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This “brilliant and erudite” history by the award-winning Arabist provides vital context for understanding the contemporary Middle East (Patrick Seale, author of Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East).
From Algeria and Libya to Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, the Arab world commands Western headlines. Nowhere else does the unfolding of events have such significant consequences for America. And yet its complex politics and cultures elude the grasp of most Western readers and commentators.
A Concise History of the Arabs provides an essential road map to understanding the Arab world today, and in the years ahead. Noted Arab scholar John McHugo guides readers through the political, social, and intellectual history of the Arabs from the Roman Empire to the present day. Taking readers beyond the headlines, McHugo vividly describes the crucial turning points in Arab history—from the Prophet Muhammad’s mission and the expansion of Islam to the region’s interaction with Western ideas and the rise of Islamism. This lucidly told history reveals how the Arab world came into its present form, why major shifts like the Arab Spring were inevitable, and what may lie ahead for the region.
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, this accessible history is “the product of wide reading, hard thinking and years of direct experience of the Middle East . . . There are lively and informative insights on almost every page” (Patrick Seale, author of Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East).
From Algeria and Libya to Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, the Arab world commands Western headlines. Nowhere else does the unfolding of events have such significant consequences for America. And yet its complex politics and cultures elude the grasp of most Western readers and commentators.
A Concise History of the Arabs provides an essential road map to understanding the Arab world today, and in the years ahead. Noted Arab scholar John McHugo guides readers through the political, social, and intellectual history of the Arabs from the Roman Empire to the present day. Taking readers beyond the headlines, McHugo vividly describes the crucial turning points in Arab history—from the Prophet Muhammad’s mission and the expansion of Islam to the region’s interaction with Western ideas and the rise of Islamism. This lucidly told history reveals how the Arab world came into its present form, why major shifts like the Arab Spring were inevitable, and what may lie ahead for the region.
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, this accessible history is “the product of wide reading, hard thinking and years of direct experience of the Middle East . . . There are lively and informative insights on almost every page” (Patrick Seale, author of Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East).
Price: $26.95
Pages: 352
Publisher: The New Press
Imprint: The New Press
Publication Date:
03 September 2013
Trim Size: 9.25 X 6.13 in
ISBN: 9781595589460
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
"A lucid and highly readable history of the Arab peoples up to the present day. John McHugo has provided a way of understanding this complex and ongoing story that will enlighten all who read it."
—Charles Tripp, author of The Power and the People
"Even those who are familiar with the story of the Arabs will find this new history thrilling and poignant, woven with a layered texture of knowledge and empathy that deftly stitches familiar figures into the narrative in a fresh way. It is no small feat to compress the fourteen centuries from the dawn of Islam to the new Arab Awakening into such an effortless read."
—David Gardner, international affairs editor, Financial Times, and author of Last Chance: the Middle East in the Balance
"This concise, brilliant and erudite book is the product of wide reading, hard thinking and years of direct experience of the Middle East. The author, an international lawyer and Arabist, has managed to throw fresh light on 1,400 years of Arab history from the Prophet Muhammad to the Arab Spring. There are lively and informative insights on almost every page."
—Patrick Seale, author of The Struggle for Syria
"This is a concise historical survey of Arab history from the early Islamic period to our day, including Western-Arab and Western-Muslim encounters ... A well-written, original and stimulating introduction to the Arab world."
—Gilbert Achcar, author of The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives
—Charles Tripp, author of The Power and the People
"Even those who are familiar with the story of the Arabs will find this new history thrilling and poignant, woven with a layered texture of knowledge and empathy that deftly stitches familiar figures into the narrative in a fresh way. It is no small feat to compress the fourteen centuries from the dawn of Islam to the new Arab Awakening into such an effortless read."
—David Gardner, international affairs editor, Financial Times, and author of Last Chance: the Middle East in the Balance
"This concise, brilliant and erudite book is the product of wide reading, hard thinking and years of direct experience of the Middle East. The author, an international lawyer and Arabist, has managed to throw fresh light on 1,400 years of Arab history from the Prophet Muhammad to the Arab Spring. There are lively and informative insights on almost every page."
—Patrick Seale, author of The Struggle for Syria
"This is a concise historical survey of Arab history from the early Islamic period to our day, including Western-Arab and Western-Muslim encounters ... A well-written, original and stimulating introduction to the Arab world."
—Gilbert Achcar, author of The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives