"The Middle East is a cradle of civilization. When humans first migrated out of Africa, they settled in this land. It was in the Middle East that the wheel was first invented. Farming was invented here, too. People now look to the Middle East to provide one-third of the world's oil. It is a beautiful land, rich in history, art, science, and culture"--

From secular-minded autocrats like Saddam Hussein to religious fundamentalists like Osama bin Laden, powerful voices in the Islamic world have been united by a fierce hatred of the West. If we want to know why they think the way they do, we have to understand the history of Islam and its continuous interactions with the West. This masterly collection of essays by a leading expert on Islam and the Middle East ranges over the whole sweep of Islamic...

"The Islamic State has stunned the world with its savagery, destructiveness, and military and recruiting successes. What explains the rise of ISIS and what does it portend for the future of the Middle East? In this book, one of the world's leading authorities on political Islam and jihadism sheds new light on these questions as he provides a unique history of the rise and growth of ISIS. Moving beyond journalistic accounts, Fawaz Gerges provides a...

"How did a group of religious fanatics, clad in black pajamas and armed to the teeth, manage to carve out a violent, fundamentalist "Islamic state" in wide swaths of Syria and Iraq? How did the widely celebrated revolution against Syrian dictator Bashar Assad descend into a movement led by a psychopathically violent band of jihadists dedicated to the destruction of America? And just who are these brutal Islamic militants--many speaking unaccented...

"This sweeping history of the ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, Iran) takes readers on a journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquest of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to bricklayers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that they faced over time...

An Oxford-educated scholar of the Middle East and a former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Hugh Pope lived and worked in two dozen countries throughout the region. Following in the footsteps of Sir Richard Burton and Lawrence of Arabia, Hugh Pope's explorations of the people, politics, religion, and culture of Islamic nations shows there is no such thing as a monolithic "Muslim World." His probing and often perilous journeys-at...

Veteran reporter Nawa returned to Afghanistan--the nation she'd fled as a child during the Soviet invasion--to discover a country transformed by a multibillion-dollar drug trade. Here, she illuminates the changes that have overtaken Afghanistan after decades of unbroken war. Sharing remarkable stories of poppy farmers, corrupt officials, expats, drug lords, and addicts, including her haunting encounter with a twelve-year-old child bride who was bartered...

The Gypsy Sheikh, betrayer, modern-day marauder--Zafar Nejem has been called many things. And now he is to be called Your Majesty. Returning to the throne of Al Sabah, his first act is to rescue American heiress Analise Christensen from her desert kidnappers. Since Ana is engaged to the ruler of the neighboring kingdom, her discovery must be concealed until Zafar can explain her presence, or else he risks war. But as the sun rises over the sand dunes,...

Introduces ISIS, describing the organization's founding and history, the global response to their actions, and what their future holds.

"A comprehensive look into the current Middle Eastern political and strategic realities. Utilizes the game of chess to understand the relationship between the players of the region. Describes a part of the world where emotions, passions and cultural heritage have played the protagonists' roles. Considers historical implications, memories both physical and emotional, and the unfortunate consequences of cultural displacements, as it explores the effects...