Disclaimer: Inclusion in this list does not imply that the Middle East Institute endorses all the ideas presented in any particular work. These titles were chosen because they offer a substantial amount of important information on the subject they cover.

All titles can be found on our online catalog

Table of Contents

... The Region
... Specific Countries
... The People
... Literature and Art
... Religion
... Resources
... Arab-Israeli Conflict
... Terrorism
... US-Middle East Relations
... Communications and Media Studies
... Other Information Sources

The Region

Middle East and North Africa
The Arabs
Peter Mansfield (1992)

A Concise History of the Middle East
Arthur Goldschmidt (2002)

A History of the Modern Middle East, 3rd edition
William Cleveland (2004)

The Middle East 10th ed.
Congressional Quarterly (2005)

Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics
Colbert Held with Mildred Held (2000)

The Near East Since the First World War: A History to 1995, 2nd ed.
M.E. Yapp (1996)

The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, 3 Volumes
Marshall G.S. Hodgson(1974)

Central Asia and the Caucasus
Central Asia, 130 Years of Russian Dominance: A Historical Overview
Edward Allworth (1994)

Central Asian Security: The New International Context
Roy Allison and Lena Jonson (2001)

The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia
Renee Grousset (1970)

Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present
Jeff Sahadeo and Russel Zanca, editors (2007)

Islam After Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia
Adeeb Khalid (2007)

New States, New Politics: Building the Post-Soviet Nations
Ian Bremmer and Ray Taras (1997)

Power and Change in Central Asia
Sally N. Cummings (2002)

Specific Countries

Afghanistan
The Afghanistan Wars
William Maley (2002)

Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia
Ahmed Rashid (2000)

Fragments of Grace: My Search for Meaning in the Strife of South Asia
Pamela Constable (2004)

Algeria
The Battlefield: Algeria 1988-2002: Studies in a Broken Polity
Hugh Roberts (2003)

Between Ballots and Bullets: Algeria's Transition to Authoritarianism
William B. Quandt (1998)

Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation, 2nd ed.
John Ruedy (2005)

Uncle Sam in Barbary: A Diplomatic History
Richard B. Parker (2004)

Armenia
A History of the Armenian People
George A. Bournoutian (1995)

Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule
Audrey L. Altstadt (1992)

Bahrain
Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States
F. Gregory Gause (1994)

Djibouti
Djibouti and the Horn of Africa
Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff (1968)

Historical Dictionary of Djibouti
Daoud Alwan, Yohanis Mibrathu (2000)

The Horn of Africa: Politics and International Relations
Peter Woodward (2003)

Egypt
A History of Egypt: From the Arab Conquest to the Present, 2nd ed.
Afaf Lutfi Al-Sayyid Marsot (2007)

The History of Modern Egypt: From Muhammad Ali to Mubarak
P.J. Vatikiotis (1991)

Sadat and After: Struggles for Egypt's Political Soul
Raymond Baker (1990)

Eritrea
The Eritrean Struggle for Independence
Ruth Iyob (1995)

From Guerrillas to Government: The Eritrean People's Liberation Front
David Pool (2001)

Ethiopia
Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia
David Shinn and Thomas Ofcansky (2004)

Layers of Time
Paul B. Henze (2000)

Georgia
Georgia: In the Mountains of Poetry, 3rd ed.
Peter Nasmyth (2006)

The Making of the Georgian Nation
Ronald Grigor Suny (1994)

Iran
All Fall Down: America's Tragic Encounter with Iran
Gary Sick (1986)

The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iranian Relations
James A. Bill (1988)

The History of Iran
Elton Daniel (2000)

Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution, Updated Edition
Nikki Keddie (2006)

Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran
Elaine Sciolino (2000)

Iraq
A History of Iraq
Charles Tripp (2000)

The Modern History of Iraq
Phebe Marr (2004)

Israel
A History of Israel
Ahron Bregman (2003)

A History of Israel : From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time
Howard M. Sachar (1996)

Jordan
Jordan: Crossroads of Middle Eastern Events
Peter Gubser (1983)

King Abdullah, Britain, and the Making of Jordan
Mary C. Wilson (1987)

The Modern History of Jordan
Kamal Salibi (1998)

Kazakhstan
The Kazakhs
Martha Brill Olcott (1995)

Kazakhstan: Unfulfilled Promise
Martha Brill Olcott (2002)

Muslim Turkistan: Kazak Religion and Collective Memory
Bruce G. Privratsky (2001)

Kuwait
The Modern History of Kuwait, 1750-1965
Ahmad Mustafa Abu-Hakima (1983)

Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States
F. Gregory Gause (1994)

Kyrgyzstan
Historical Dictionary of Kyrgyzstan
Rafis Abazov (2004)

Lebanon
Crossroads to Civil War
Kamal Salibi (1976)

Going All the Way: Christian Warlords, Israeli Adventurers and the War in Lebanon
Jonathan Randal (1983)

Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon
Robert Fisk (1990)

Libya
Libya and the United States: Two Centuries of Strife
Ronald Bruce St. John (2002)

A History of Modern Libya
Dirk Vandewalle (2006)

Mauritania
Mauritania, a Country Study
Robert E. Handloff (1990)

Morocco
The Commander of the Faithful: The Moroccan Political Elite: A Study in Segmented Politics
John Waterbury (1970)

Morocco: From Empire to Independence
C.R. Pennell (2004)

Morocco since 1830: A History
C.R. Pennell (2000)

Oman
Oman & Its Renaissance
Donald Hawley (1987)

Oman: The Islamic Democratic Tradition
Hussein Ghubash (2006)

Oman: Politics and Development
Ian Skeet (1992)

Pakistan
Pakistan: At the Crosscurrent of History
Lawrence Ziring (2003)

Pakistan: Eye of the Storm
Owen Bennett Jones (2003)

Palestinian Territories
Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness
Rashid Khalidi (1997)

The Palestinian People: A History
Baruch Kimmerling and Joel S. Migdal (2003)

Palestinian Politics After the Oslo Accords: Resuming Arab Palestine
Nathan J. Brown (2003)

Qatar
Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States
F. Gregory Gause (1994)

Qatar: The Business Traveller's Handbook
David Chaddock (2003)

Saudi Arabia
A History of Saudi Arabia
Madawi Al Rasheed (2002)

Inside the Mirage: America's Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia
Thomas W. Lippman (2004)

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
David E. Long (1997)

Somalia
A Modern History of Somalia: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa, 4th ed.
I.M. Lewis (2002)

Society, Security, Sovereignty and the State in Somalia
Maria H. Brons (2001)

Somalia: Economy Without State
Peter D. Little (2003)

Sudan
The History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day
Peter M. Holt and M.W. Daly (2000)

Inside Sudan: Political Islam, Conflict, and Catastrophe
Don Petterson (2003)

Syria
Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East
Patrick Seale with Maureen McConville (1989)

Syria: Ballots or Bullets? Democracy, Islamism, and Secularism in the Levant
Carsten Wieland (2006)

Syria: Revolution from Above
Raymond A. Hinnebusch (2001)

Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000
Sami Moubayed (2005)

Tajikistan
Beyond the Oxus: The Central Asians
Monica Whitlock (2002)

Tajikistan in the New Central Asia: Geopolitics, Great Power Rivalry and Radical Islam
Lena Johnson (2006)

Tunisia
A History of Modern Tunisia
Kenneth J. Perkins (2004)

Turkey
Crescent & Star : Turkey Between Two Worlds
Stephen Kinzer (2001)

The Emergence of Modern Turkey
Bernard Lewis (1961)

Turkey Unveiled: Ataturk and After
Nicole and Hugh Pope (1997)

Turkmenistan
Tradition and Society in Turkmenistan : Gender, Oral Culture and Song
Carolle Blackwell (2001)

Tribal Nation : The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan
Adrienne Lynn Edgar (2004)

United Arab Emirates
From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates: A Society in Transition
Frauke Heard-Bey (1996)

Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States
F. Gregory Gause (1994)

Uzbekistan
The Modern Uzbeks: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present, A Cultural History
Edward Allworth (1990)

Tamerlane's Children: Dispatches from Contemporary Uzbekistan
Robert Rand (2006)

Uzbekistan: Politics and Foreign Policy
Annette Bohr (1998)

Yemen
A History of Modern Yemen
Paul Dresch (2000)

The People

Arabs
Arab Human Development Report (2002 - 2005)
United Nations Development Programme

A History of the Arab Peoples
Albert Hourani (1991)

Pop Culture Arab World! Media, Arts and Lifestyle
Andrew Hammond (2005)

Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Westerners
Margaret K. Nydell (2002)

Iranians
Culture and Customs of Iran
Elton L. Daniel and Ali Akbar Mahdi (2006)

Garden of the Brave in War
Terence O'Donnel (1988)

The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation
Sandra Mackey (1996)

Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran
Afshin Molavi (2002)

Searching for Hassan: A Journey to the Heart of Iran
Terence Ward (2003)

Israelis
Culture and Customs of Israel
Rebecca L. Torstrick (2004)

The Israelis: Founders and Sons
Amos Elon (1971)

Rubber Bullets: Power and Conscience in Modern Israel
Yaron Ezrahi (1997)

Kurds
The Kurdish Question in U.S. Foreign Policy : A Documentary Sourcebook
Lokman I. Meho (2004)

A Modern History of the Kurds
David McDowall (2000)

Turks
Turkish Culture for Americans
Hasan Dindi, et al. (1989)

The Turks Today
Andrew Mango (2004)

Literature and Art

Arabic Literature
The Literature of Modern Arabia: An Anthology
Salma Khadra Jayyusi (1989)

Persian Literature
Stories from Iran, 1921-1991: A Chicago Anthology
Heshmat Moayyad (2002)

Turkish Literature
An Anthology of Turkish Literature
Kemal Silay, ed. (1996)

Islamic Art and Architecture
The Art and Architecture of Islam, 1250-1800
Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom (1995)

Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art
Rosamond E. Mack (2002)

Islamic Art and Architecture
Robert Hillenbrand (1999)

Islamic Art and Architecture, 650-1250
Richard Ettinghausen, Marilyn Jenkins-Madina and Oleg Grabar (2001)

Religion

Islam
Introduction to Islam
M. Cherif Bassiouni (available in electronic form here) (1988)

Islam, 2nd ed.
Fazlur Rahman (1979)

Islam: and the Muslim Community
Frederick M. Denny (1987)

Islam in the Middle East: A Living Tradition
G.P. Makris (2006)

Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim World
Thomas W. Lippman (1990)

The Vision of Islam
Sachiko Murata and William Chittick (1994)

Sh'ism
Shi'a Islam: From Religion to Revolution
Heinz Halm (1997)

Sufism
Islamic Mysticism: A Short History
Alexander Knysh (2000)

Sufism: The Essentials
Mark J. Sedgwick (2003)

The Shambhala Guide to Sufism
Carl W. Ernst (1997)

Political Islam
Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam
Gilles Kepel (2002)

Resources

Oil
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power
Daniel Yergin (1990)

Water
Rivers of Eden: The Struggle for Water and the Quest for Peace in the Middle East
Daniel Hillel (1994)

Water in the Middle East: Legal, Political and Commercial Implications
Chibli Mallat, J.A. Allan (1995)

Arab-Israeli Conflict

The Arab-Israeli Conflict
T.G. Fraser (2004)

The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After
Edward Said (2000)

From Beirut to Jerusalem
Thomas L. Friedman (1995)

History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Mark A. Tessler (1994)

Israel/Palestine
Alan Dowty (2005)

Making Peace with the PLO: The Rabin Government's Road to the Oslo Accord
David Makovsky (1996)

Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Since 1967
William B. Quandt (2001)

War Without End: Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for a Promised Land
Anton La Guardia (2002)

Terrorism

The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global
Fawaz A. Gerges (2005)

Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror
Rohan Gunaratna (2002)

Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam
John L. Esposito (2002)

U.S.-Middle East Relations

American Encounters with Arabs: The "Soft Power" of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East
William A. Rugh (2006)

The Stakes: America and the Middle East: The Consequences of Power and the Choice for Peace
Shibley Telhami (2002)

Communications and Media Studies

Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics
William A. Rugh (2004)

Arab Media and Political Renewal: Community, Legitimacy and Public Life
Naomi Sakr, ed. (2007)

Islam in the Digital Age: E-Jihad, Online Fatwas and Cyber Islamic Environments
Gary R. Bunt (2003)

Other Information Sources

The Library of Congress' Portals to the World provides extensive information and links to other resources.

The Department of State offers Background Notes on all the countries of the world. The information is continuously updated and links are provided to sites for travelers and for those wishing to do business in other countries. Statistical sources are also offered.

BBC World News' Country Profiles include basic facts on each country, a thumbnail sketch of each ruler, an overview of the country's media policy and a list of major news agencies.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has information on nutrition, health and agriculture-related topics.