Middle East

A landmark history of 100 years of war waged against the Palestinians from the foremost US historian of the Middle East, told through pivotal events and family history....

In this sweeping history of the ancient Near East, Amanda Podany takes listeners on a gripping journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquests of Alexander the Great....

A “fascinating and very moving” (Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenwriter of The West Wing and The Social Network) chronological timeline spanning from Biblical times to today that explores one of the most interesting countries in the world—Israel....

An authoritative and deeply personal narrative history of the State of Israel, by one of the most influential journalists writing about the Middle East today....

The history of the tablets translated in the following book is strange and beyond the belief of modern scientists. Their antiquity is stupendous, dating back some 36,000 years.

The writer is....

Immersive and gripping, an intimate story of a deadly accident outside Jerusalem that unravels a tangle of lives, loves, enmities, and histories over the course of one revealing, heartbreaking day....

In 1307, as they struggled to secure their last strongholds in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Templars fell afoul of the vindictive and impulsive king of France....

Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium....

The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel’s DNA....

Palestine 1936 is the origin story of the world's most intractable conflict, but it is also more than that. It reveals world-changing events through extraordinary individuals on all sides....

At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen. Here, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of Assyria and its formative role in global history....

From bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steve Coll, the definitive story of the decades-long relationship between the United States and Saddam Hussein....

This landmark book, first published in 1978, remains one of the most influential books in the Social Sciences, particularly Ethnic Studies and Postcolonialism....

In 1967, not long after the Six-Day War, three young Arab men ventured into the town of Ramle, in what is now Jewish Israel....

Epic in scope, tracing seven centuries of conflict between two great powers, historian Adrian Goldsworthy completely reshapes our understanding of one of the greatest rivalries of world history....

This sweeping history of the often-violent conflict between Islam and the West sheds a revealing light on current hostilities....

Why do Israelis have among the world’s highest life expectancies and lowest rates of “deaths of despair” from suicide and substance abuse? Why is Israel’s population young and growing while all other wealthy democracies are aging and shrinking?....

The former president, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, offers an assessment of what must be done to bring permanent peace to Israel, with dignity and justice for Palestine....

The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan....

This classic presents historical, archaeological, and anthropological evidence to support the theory that ancient Egypt was a black civilization....

A major new history of the Crusades with an unprecedented wide scope, told in a tableau of portraits of people on all sides of the wars, from the New York Times best-selling author of The Templars....

Max Blumenthal takes us on a journey through the badlands and high roads of Israel-Palestine, painting a startling portrait of Israeli society under the siege of increasingly authoritarian politics....

In Israel and the West, it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War or, simply, as "the Setback"....

Authors MichaelBar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal take us behind the closed curtain with riveting, eye-opening, boots-on-the-ground accounts of the most dangerous, most crucial missions....

In a thrilling dramatic narrative, awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, Joby Warrick traces how the strain of militant Islam behind ISIS first arose in a remote Jordanian prison and spread with the unwitting aid of two American presidents....

Jewish Voice for Peace has curated a collection of essays that provides a diversity of perspectives and standpoints. Each contribution explores critical questions concerning uses and abuses of antisemitism in the twenty-first-century, focusing on the intersection between antisemitism, accusations of antisemitism, and Palestinian human rights activism.

Since the devastating attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent bombardment by Israel of Gaza, there has been an escalating crisis in the Middle East. With an overflow of news, images, and social media, it is hard to make sense of it all. Middle East in Crisis & Conflict: A Primer seeks to distill the information, insights, and implications you need to navigate ongoing developments.

This Book recounts history like a story. Step into a world where geopolitics collides with history, where the fate of nations hangs in the balance, and where one small strip of land becomes the epicenter of a monumental struggle. In "75 Years' War on Israel," prepare to embark on an enthralling journey through the tumultuous annals of the Middle East, as we unravel the gripping narrative of a nation born amidst chaos and conflict. Within these pages lies a captivating chronicle, meticulously crafted from the rich tapestry of events that have defined Israel's turbulent existence. From the ...

Cleopatra: lover, seductress, and Egypt's greatest queen. A woman more myth than history, immortalized in poetry, drama, music, art, and film. She captivated Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, the two greatest Romans of the day, and died in a blaze of glory, with an asp clasped to her breast - or so the legend tells us. But the real-life story of the historical Cleopatra VII is even more compelling. She was the last of seven Cleopatras who ruled Egypt before it was subsumed into the Roman Empire. These extraordinary women keep a close grip on power in the wealthiest country of the ancient world.

This book describes and explains the major events, personalities, conflicts, and convergences that have shaped the history of the Muslim world. The body of the work takes listeners from the origins of Islam to the eve of the nineteenth century, and an epilogue continues the story to the present day. Michael Cook thus provides a broad history of a civilization remarkable for both its unity and diversity.

The best example of a country, from beginning to end, is Israel's history as told in the Bible. Because they did not follow God's commandments, they eventually lost their country for over two thousand years. This book examines Israel's history and compares it to what we are doing in America today. There are several sins we are practicing today in America that are the same as Israel's. I list some of the sins we are practicing today and the Bible's condemnation of those sins.

In 1798, an initial review of France’s naval forces had led Napoleon to conclude his navy could not hope to outfight the power of the Royal Navy, which had been the dominant naval power for centuries, so he was forced to look elsewhere. After months of planning, Napoleon crafted a scheme to attack and conquer Egypt, denying the British easy access to their colonies in India, with the ultimate goal of linking up with the Sultan Tipoo in India itself and defeating the British in the field there. Napoleon sailed with Admiral Brueys and 30,000 troops that June, heading for Egypt.

This remarkable book recreates one of the watershed moments in the history of the Middle East: the ferocious outbreaks of disorder across the Levant in 1860 which resulted in the massacre of thousands of Christians in Damascus. Eugene Rogan brilliantly recreates the lost world of the Middle East under Ottoman rule. This is both an essential book for understanding the emergence of the modern Middle East from the destruction of the old Ottoman world, and a uniquely gripping story.

David Ben-Gurion cast a great shadow during his lifetime, and his legacy continues to be sharply debated to this day. There have been many books written about the life and accomplishments of the Zionist icon and founder of modern Israel, but this new biography by eminent Israeli historian Anita Shapira strives to get to the core of the complex man who would become the face of the new Jewish nation. Shapira tells the Ben-Gurion story anew, focusing especially on the period after 1948, during the first years of statehood.

This passionate autobiography—at once history lesson, prison memoir, metaphysical inquiry, love story, and cry for justice—provides insights into the Israeli occupation and the struggle of the Palestinian people.

Embark on a captivating journey into the mystical world of ancient Egypt with The Egyptian Book of the Dead: A Beginner's Guide. This essential guide unlocks the secrets of one of the most fascinating ancient texts, providing an accessible and enlightening introduction to the spiritual and cultural practices that have intrigued scholars and mystics for centuries. Unveil Ancient Wisdom: Dive into the depths of the Book of the Dead to explore its rich tapestry of spells, prayers, and magical incantations. Learn how these ancient words guided the spirits of the deceased through the treacherous...

In the years preceding the Yom Kippur War, Israeli leadership framed the operational environment. The result was the 1973 surprise attack by Egypt and Syria. How did this occur? What caused the Israelis to develop such an erroneous assessment? One way to analyze this situation is by looking at the instruments of national power. Nations impact the international environment through diplomatic, informational, military, and economic sources of power. By using these four areas, a holistic view of Israel’s situation prior to the 1973 war can be developed.

Nasser Abu Srour grew up in a refugee camp in the West Bank, on the outskirts of Bethlehem. As a child, he played in its shadow and explored the little world within the camp. As he grew older, he began questioning the boundaries that limited his existence. Later, sentenced to life in prison, with no hope of parole, he found himself surrounded by a physical wall. This is the story of how, over thirty years in captivity, he crafted a new definition of freedom. Turning to writings by philosophers as varied as Derrida, Kirkegaard and Freud, he begins to let go of freedom...

In six days, the 1967 Arab-Israeli War dramatically changed the geopolitical structure of the Middle East, as Israel occupied the Golan Heights, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. Surrounded by hostile armies, the Israeli Defense Forces launched a preemptive strike that destroyed their adversary’s air power and paved the way for an overwhelming victory on the ground. Today, the region and the world continues to struggle over Israel’s occupation of these areas. Because the Arab states and the United Nations do not acknowledge Israel’s right to ...

The complex and intransigent conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians has dominated the 20th century. While British support of Zionism facilitated the creation of the Jewish State, it is unclear whether a lack of British support would have prevented it. Nevertheless, following World War II, the British, deeply in debt, transferred world superpower status to the United States, which moved into Greece and Turkey and immediately recognized the Jewish state in 1948. Since then, the US influence has been beneficial towards Israel. Even so, in the 1990’s, the drive to broker a peace ...