Al-Jazeera
Al-Jazeera in English.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Qatar-based news service offering video, transcripts, and blogs with in-depth coverage of international news with emphasis on the Middle East.
Source: Eileen H. Kramer
BBC
BBC News Middle East.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/middle_east/
BBC News Africa.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/africa/
An assortment of current stories, features, and analyses on these two regions with links to foreign language news, and multimedia. The BBC has no paywall.
Source: Eileen H. Kramer
Haaretz.
http://www.haaretz.com/
Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
Source: http://www.haaretz.com/
Mackey, Robert
The Lede.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/
The Lede is a blog that remixes national and international news stories — adding information gleaned from the Web or gathered through original reporting — to supplement articles in The New York Times and draw readers in to the global conversation about the news taking place online.
Source: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com
The New York Times
The New York Times Middle East.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/middleeast/index.html
The New York Times Africa.
URL
Presents articles covering current issues in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Note: the New York Times has a paywall but your first twenty articles are exempt, and you can find the articles' full text on LexisNexis.
Source: Eileen H. Kramer
El Amrani, Issandr
The Arabist.
http://www.arabist.net/
Arabist.net was launched in Cairo in November 2003, by Issandr El Amrani, partly as response to the the lack of interest in the domestic politics of Arab countries in much Western media. It focuses on Egypt but tries to follow broader issues in the Arab world, US policy in the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian in the Middle East, and cultural developments throughout the region.
Source: http://www.arabist.net/colophon/
Afary, Frieda
Iranian Progressives in Translation.
http://iranianvoicesintranslation
.blogspot.com/
This site is devoted to publishing English translations of statements or articles by progressive Iranian thinkers and activists who may not be widely known internationally but offer important ideas. Those who wish to reprint these translations may do so provided they cite the original Persian source and the name and address of this blog.
Source: http://iranianvoicesintranslation
.blogspot.com/
United States Central Intelligence Agency
CIA World Factbook.
https://www.cia.gov/
library/publications/
the-world-factbook/
Offers maps, statistics, and background information on countries, all over the world, including those in the Near East, North Africa, and South Asia.
Source: Eileen H. Kramer
United States Department of State
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
http://www.state.gov/
p/nea/index.htm
A collection of press releases, statements, and reports on the United States' role in and opinion torward major events in the Middle East an North Africa. The Countries link offers links to State Department Background Notes, which is especially useful.
Source: Eileen H. Kramer
Click on any of the thumbnail images below to see a full size image. Full size images pop up in another window.
To say that the Middle East (and North Africa) is in the news is more than an understatement. This display features books and web sites that cover the: politics, historical background, civilization, and current events in these regions.
To see other displays stop by the DISPLAY ARCHIVE
Al-Rasheed, Madawi.
A History of Saudi Arabia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Call Number: DS244.52 .A43 2002
In 1932 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was born. Madawi al-Rasheed traces its extraordinary history from the age of emirates in the nineteenth century, through the 1990 Gulf War, to the present day.
Source: http://www.cambridge.org
Ball , Warwick.
Syria: A Historical and Architectural Guide. Northhampton, MA: Interlink Books, 2007.
Call Number: DS94 .B24 2007
Syria is the Middle East's best kept secret. With its many site plans and maps, readable text and 96 color photos , this book makes available for the first time the immensely wealthy history, archaeology and architecture of Syria to the general reader and interested traveler.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Bhutto, Benazir.
Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West. New York: Harper, 2008.
Call Number: DS389.22 .B48 2008
Writing a few months prior to her assassination, Bhutto explores the complicated history between the Middle East and the West. She traces the roots of international terrorism across the world, including American support for Pakistani general Zia-ul-Haq, who destroyed political parties, eliminated an independent judiciary, marginalized NGOs, suspended the protection of human rights, and aligned Pakistani intelligence agencies with the most radical elements of the Afghan mujahideen.
Source: http://gilfind.gsu.edu
Burrowes, Robert D.
Historical Dictionary of Yemen. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010.
Call Number: DS247 .Y45 B87 2010
A small and extremely poor Islamic country, Yemen is located on the edge of the Arab world in the southernmost corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It was the product of the unification of the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in May 1990. The location of the two Yemens on the world's busiest sea-lane at the southern end of the Red Sea where Asia almost meets Africa gave them strategic significance from the start of the age of imperialism through the Cold War. More vital today is the fact that Yemen shares a long border with oil-rich Saudi Arabia and is a key to efforts both to spread and to end global revolutionary Islam and its use of terror.
Source: http://gilfind.gsu.edu
Coleman, Isobel.
Paradise Beneath her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East. New York: Random House, 2010.
Call Number: HQ1236.5 .M65 C65 2010
Over the centuries and throughout the world, women have struggled for equality and basic rights. Their challenge in the Middle East has been intensified by the rise of a political Islam that too often condemns women’s empowerment as Western cultural imperialism or, worse, anti-Islamic. In Paradise Beneath Her Feet, Isobel Coleman shows how Muslim women and men are fighting back with progressive interpretations of Islam to support women’s rights in a growing movement of Islamic feminism.
Source: http://www.randomhouse.com
Commins, David D.
Historical Dictionary of Syria. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004.
Call Number: DS94.9 .C66 2004
The only specific reference work in English, this new edition addresses profound changes in Syria's domestic and regional circumstances. The domestic political scene witnessed a major transition with the passing of Syria's ruler for 30 years, Hafiz al-Asad, and the unexpectedly smooth succession of his son Bashar as new president in 2000.
Source: http://www.scarecrowpress.com
Dyer, Gwynne.
After Iraq: Anarchy and Renewal in the Middle East. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008.
Call Number: DS79.76 .D94 2008
As Gwynne Dyer argues in After Iraq, the Middle East is about to change fundamentally, and everything is now up for grabs: regimes, ethnic pecking orders within states, even national borders themselves are liable to change without notice. Five years from now there could be an Islamic Republic of Arabia, an independent Kurdistan, a Muslim cold war between Sunnis and Shias, almost anything you care to imagine.
Source: http://us.macmillan.com
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Goltz, Thomas, Tony Gillotte, and Brian Bell.
Turkey. New York: Prentice-Hall, 2008.
Call Number: DR429 .T86
More than a travel guide. Lush, color photos and vivid descriptions give a taste of the country that even armchair travelers can appreciate. Note: this guide is several years old and the publisher has a new one available. Those planning a "real life" trip will want the latest edition.
Source: Eileen H. Kramer
Harris, Mark Edward and Abbas Kiarostami.
Inside Iran. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2008.
Call Number: DS254.7 .H37 2008
The Islamic Republic of Iran is at the center of world attention politically, socially, and culturally—but it remains largely a cipher to the West. Award-winning photographer Mark Edward Harris has traveled throughout Iran to produce the first contemporary photographic book on a place seldom seen or understood. His images of daily life offer a fascinating look at a society of juxtapositions—ancient and modern, commercial and spiritual, serene and intense, political and personal.
Source: http://www.chroniclebooks.com
Hitti, Philip Khuri.
History of Syria Including Lebanon and Palestine. London: Macmillan, 1951.
Call Number: DS95 .H5
Now Dr. Hitti has written a brilliant history of a land into which more historical and cultural events, colorful and dynamic, were crowded than perhaps into any area of equal size.
Source: http://www.gorgiaspress.com
Kelly, Sonja and Julia Breslin. Eds.
Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Progress Amid Resistance. New York: Freedom House, 2010.
Call Number: HQ1236.5 .M65 W68 2010
Freedom House's innovative publication Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Progress Amid Resistance analyzes the status of women in the region, with a special focus on the gains and setbacks for women's rights since the first edition was released in 2005. The study presents a comparative evaluation of conditions for women in seventeen countries and one territory: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq , Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine (Palestinian Authority and Israeli-Occupied Territories), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Lawrence, Quil.
Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood is Shaping Irq and the Middle East. New York: Macmillan, 2008.
Call Number: DS70.8 .K8 L39 2008
As Quil Lawrence relates in his fascinating and timely study of the Kurds, while their ambition and determination grow apace, their future will be largely dependent on whether America values a budding democracy in the region, or decides to yet again sacrifice the Kurds in the name of political expediency. In any event, the Kurdish north may well prove to be the defining battleground in Iraq.
Source: http://www.walkerbooks.com
Long, David E., Bernard Reich, and Mark J. Gasiorowski.
. The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2011.
Call Number: #: DS62.8 .G68 2011
Now in its sixth edition, The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa continues to provide with authoritative and comprehensive overviews of the history, politics, foreign policies, and critical contemporary events and issues of each country in the Middle East and North Africa.
Source: http://www.bn.com
Lorentz, John H.
Historical Dictionary of Iran. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2007.
Call Number: DS270 .L67 2007
Iran is a country with a deep and complex history. Over several thousand years, Iran has been the source of numerous creative contributions to the spiritual and literary world, and the site of many remarkable manifestations of material culture. The special place that Iran has come to hold in contemporary historical events, most recently as a center stage actor in the unfolding and interconnected drama of worldwide nuclear arms proliferation and terrorism, is all the more reason to explore the characters and personality of Iran and Iranians.
Source: http://www.scarecrowpress.com
National Geographic Society.
National Geographic Atlas of the Middle East. Washington, DC: National Georgraphic Society, 2008.
Call Number: G2205 .N34 2008
With worldwide attention focused on the Middle East, National Geographic provides extraordinary coverage of the region, rich with history and culture but ravaged by war and conflict.
Source: http://www.nationalgeographic.com
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Orbach, Benjamin.
Live from Jordan: Letters Home from my Journey Through the Middle East. New York: American Management Association, 2007.
Call Number: DS153.2 .O73 2007
From the angry streets of Cairo to the living rooms of ordinary people in Jordan and Palestine, Orbach offers an honest, balanced portrait of a region in turmoil and the vivid, misunderstood, and often welcoming people who inhabit it. With humor and wit, he sheds new light on a culture that few Americans understand. Engaging and evocative, Live from Jordan is a myth-breaking book that combines the lyricism of a travelogue with the insight of reportage.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Oren, Michael B. Power,
Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present. New York: W.W. Norton & Col, 2007.
Call Number: DS63.2 .U5 O54 2007
Covering more than two hundred years of history, a study of American involvement in the Middle East examines the diverse roles of American statesmen, merchants, soldiers, missionaries, explorers, and others in shaping this troubled region.
Source: http://gilfind.gsu.edu
Rubin, Barry M.
The Truth About Syria. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Call Number: DS98.2 .R83 2007
Syria has long presented a serious problem for the Middle East region and U.S. policy. With its mix of competing religious and ethnic groups, radical ideologies, and political repression, it is a 72,000-square-mile time bomb waiting to go off. Yet surprisingly, very little is known about this country and the role it has played in shaping the destiny of the Middle East. In The Truth about Syria, Middle East expert Barry Rubin looks at the critical issues that have made the country the powderkeg of the Middle East and offers an insightful analysis of the effects of recent developments.
Source: http://us.macmillan.com
Sorenson, David S.
An Introduction to the Modern Middle East : History, Religion, Political Economy, Politics. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2008.
Call Number: DS44 .S67 2008
Combining essential themes in the discipline of comparative politics with a country-by-country analysis, author David S. Sorenson provides a complete and accessible introduction to the modern Middle East.
Source: http://www.bn.com
Stewart, Rory.
The Places in Between. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2006.
Call Number: DS352 .S74 2006
Traces the author's 2002 journey by foot across Afghanistan, during which he survived the harsh elements through the kindness of tribal elders, teen soldiers, Taliban commanders, and foreign-aid workers whose stories he collected along his way.
Source: http://gilfind.gsu.edu
Tauber, Eliezer.
The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq. Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1995.
Call Number: DS63.4 .T39 1995
This volume examines the impact of clandestine and overt political organizations in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq after World War I. It analyzes Amir Faysal's short-lived state in post-war Syria, relations between Syrians, Iraqis and Palestinians, and nationalist activity within Iraq.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Wells, Colin.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Saudi Arabia. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha, 2003.
Call Number: DS204 .W45 2003
Some call it a friend to the U.S.; others a foe. Now get the facts on this complex and crucial nation.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Wynbrandt, James.
A Brief History of Saudi Arabia. New York: Facts on File, 2010.
Call Number: DS204.25 .W96 2010
In recent years Saudi Arabia has experienced changes that have both altered the internal structure of the country and affected its foreign relations. Women have gained additional civil rights; the educational system has been overhauled in an attempt to generate a skilled workforce that can enter the competitive global market; and international concern regarding terrorists within Saudi Arabia's borders has prompted an aggressive response from King Abdullah...Yet despite economic, social, and political improvements, the country still faces turmoil from continued conflict in the Middle East.
Source: http://www.bn.com
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Abdullahi, Mohamed Diriye.
Culture and Customs of Somalia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001.
Call Number: GN650 .S65 .A34 2001
Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation, is finally recovering from recent wars and famine. Written by a native Somali, Culture and Customs of Somalia gives students and interested readers an in-depth look at the land and people, past and present.
Source: http://www.greenwood.com
Asante, Molefi K.
The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony. New York: Routledge, 2007.
Call Number: DT20 .A83 2007
This book provides a wide-ranging history of Africa from earliest prehistory to the present day – using the cultural, social, political, and economic lenses of Africa as instruments to illuminate the ordinary lives of Africans.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Falola, Toyin.
The History of Nigeria. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Call Number: DT515.57 .F35 1999
This succinct, authoritative, and engagingly written history of Nigeria from its earliest beginnings through 1998 provides an excellent introduction to the country's history.
Source: http://www.abc-clio.com
Falola, Toyin and Matthew M. Heaton.
A History of Nigeria. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Call Number: DT55.57 .F35 2008
Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and the world's eighth largest oil producer, but its success has been undermined in recent decades by ethnic and religious conflict, political instability, rampant official corruption and an ailing economy. Toyin Falola, a leading historian intimately acquainted with the region, and Matthew Heaton, who has worked extensively on African science and culture, combine their expertise to explain the context to Nigeria's recent troubles through an exploration of its pre-colonial and colonial past, and its journey from independence to statehood.
Source: http://www.cambridge.org
Gardner, Judith and Judy El-Bushra.
Somalia--The Untold Story: The War through the Eyes of Somali Women. Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 2004.
Call Number: HQ1795 .S66 2004
In this book, Somali women write and talk about the war, their experiences and the unacceptable choices they often faced. They explain clearly, in their own words, the changes, challenges – and sometimes the opportunities – that war brought, and how they coped with them.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Gillespie, Carol Ann.
Ethiopia. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House, 2003.
Call Number: DT373 .G55 2003
Photographs and text look at the past, development, and present culture of Ethiopia and its inhabitants.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Lonely Planet Publications.
The Africa Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the Continent. Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet, 2007.
Call Number: DT2 .A273 2007
A vast continent spanning every sort of landscape and culture, 1800 spoken languages, a whole arkful sic of wildlife... Where to start? How about The Africa Book!
Source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com
Maitre, Pascal, Calixthe Beyala, and Jean-Claude Nouveliere.
Mon Afrique: Photographs of Sub-Saharan Africa. New York: Aperture Foundation, Inc., 2000.
Call Number: Oversize DT4.5 .M35 2000
For more than 20 years, Maitre has made sub-Saharan Africa his beat, producing rhapsodically beautiful pictures while frankly documenting the vast subcontinent's political turbulence. His photos ravish the senses because of his painterly handling of light and color, regardless whether what they depict is chilling, endearing, fascinating, or merely reportorial.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
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Mandela, Nelson.
Conversations with Myself. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2010.
Call Number: DT1974 .M3314 2010
Nelson Mandela is widely considered to be one of the most inspiring and iconic figures of our age. Now, after a lifetime of taking pen to paper to record thoughts and events, hardships and victories, he has bestowed his entire extant personal papers, which offer an unprecedented insight into his remarkable life.
Source: http://us.macmillan.com
Middleton, John, Joseph C. Miller, and Joseph Caulder Eds.
New Encyclopedia of Africa. Detroit, MI: Thomson/Gale, 2008.
Call Number: Reference DT3 .N49 2008
This substantial expansion and reworking of the classic Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara (1997) covers the entire continent, from the Europe-facing shores of the Mediterranean to the commercial bustle of Cape Town. The set addresses the entire history of African cultures from the pharaohs and the ancient civilizations of the south through the colonial era to the emergence of 53 independent countries, some of them, like Nigeria, newly emergent in world commerce and others deep in conflict (Sudan, Liberia, Congo).
Source: http:// www.gale.cengage.com
Mitchell, Peter et. al.
Peoples and Cultures of Africa. New York: Chelsea House, 2006.
Call Number: DT14 . P46 2006
This attractive and informative set provides well-written, well-researched introductory information about African geography and culture. Each of the first five volumes covers a region within the continent (Central, East, North, Southern, and West Africa) and opens with introductory information on that area's physical features , biomes, religions, languages, and cultures, and includes an extensive time line.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Ofcansky, Thomas P. and LaVerle B. Berry.
Ethiopia: A Country Study Washington, DC: G.P.O., 1993.
Call Number: DT373 .E83 1993
This edition of Ethiopia: A Country Study examines the revolutionary government's record until a few months before its demise. Subsequent events are discussed in the Introduction. Like its predecessor, this study investigates the historical, social, economic, political, and national security forces that helped determine the nature of Ethiopian society.
Source: http://memory.loc.gov
Page, Willie F. and Davis R. Hunt.
Encyclopedia of African History and Culture. New York: Facts on File, 2005.
Call Number: Reference DT3 .P27 2005
This well-researched resource will enhance and support the study of this vast continent. Three chronological volumes cover up to the 19th century. Books are arranged alphabetically with entries ranging from one paragraph to two pages in length. They discuss locations, countries, individuals, peoples, concepts, events, plants, and animals, and include many cultural references. Articles for certain topics can be found in each volume.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Segy, Ladislas.
Masks of Black Africa. New York: Dover Publications, 1976.
Call Number: GN645 .S39 1976
In this stunning collection, 247 photographs of masks, identified by tribe, place, and ritual use, are featured. Dogon, Senufo, many more.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
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Seligman, C. G.
Races of Africa. New York: Oxford University Press, 1957.
Call Number: DT15 .S45 1957
Descriptions of the appearance, religion, and ways of life of Africa's various ethnic groups in the late 1920's. It would be interesting to know if DNA, gene mapping, and hemoglobin studies back up or refute Seligman's research.
Source: Eileen H. Kramer
Shillington, Kevin.
History of Africa. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
Call Number: DT20 .S47 1995
This work is written from an African perspective e.g., "Alexander of Macedon (known in European history as Alexander the Great)" and is geared to secondary students (it comes complete with questions). It attempts to emphasize developments affecting the lives of "ordinary" people...
Source: http://www.amazon.com
Tillim, Guy.
Jo'Burg. Trezelan, France: Filigranes, 2005.
Call Number: DT2405 .J6543 T55 2005.
This series of photographs follows the fortunes of Johannesburg's inner city residents as a new African city is forged after the apartheid era. The book unfolds concertina-style and when opened up, end-to-end, is 52.5 feet long.
Source: http://www.amazon.com
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