Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East11 reviews Robin Wright Penguin Press HC, The, 2008 Required reading for all who want to understand the Middle East. + Excellent and easy to read overview of the middle-east + A hopeful book + Great book!!!             The Arab Mind51 reviews Raphael Patai Hatherleigh Press, 2002 A Must Read + The Arab Mind I have lived in the Middle East, on and off, for four years, and no book explained the Arab mind as well as Raphael Patai's. Written over 30 years ago, it still rings true in so many aspects, and definitely helps explain the cultural clashes that still occur and slow down the process of ...             Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present97 reviews Michael B. Oren W. W. Norton, 2008 Learned piece of historical writing + Adds depth to understanding past and present Mid East/US relationship + Thanks for writing this! + Interesting and informative + Informative, almost entertaining             Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran47 reviews Elaine Sciolino Free Press, 2005 The Essence of a Nation + Deep understanding of the Islamic Republic, Persian culture and Islam. + Fascinating Interviews with Living Iranians + Useful Book with good insight + A marvellous story, beautifully written of a complex nation and country             An Introduction to Islam for Jews6 reviews Reuven Firestone Jewish Publication Society of America, 2008 Islam demystified + Scholarly, Comprehensive, Balanced + Best review of Islam for those familiar with Judaism. + A scholarly examination of the Islamic faith and how it relates to the Jewish people             The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew-- Three Women Search for Understanding73 reviews Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, ... Free Press, 2007 Faith Club + Down-to-Earth, yet Profound + Read this book. + The Faith Club + One of my favorite books of this year             The Middle East for Dummies8 reviews Jr. Davis Craig For Dummies, 2003 Informative overview of the entire Middle East + Makes sense of a complex region + The Middle East For Dummies + GONNA DEPLOY? BUY THIS BOOK. + The Story Behind the Story             Opening the Gates: An Anthology of Arab Feminist Writing1 review Indiana University Press, 2004 It's not bad, but the selection process could have been better and more in depth I read an earlier edition of this anthology along with Lau's Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature because I am doing my MA thesis on the premise that Nawal el Saadawi's Firdaus in Woman at Point Zero and Lao She's "I" in "Crescent Moon" are really one and the same. Opening the Gates is a ...             SAHARASIA: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence, In the Deserts ...8 reviews James DeMeo Natural Energy Works, 2006 A TRUE MASTERPIECE OF SCHOLARSHIP! + about fundamentals of history and humanity - with and without religious metaphysics and fundamentalism + Exciting Insights, Frustrating Blind Spots + Save the World; Read This Book + Measuring the social impact of environmental decline             The Gardens of Their Dreams : Desertification and Culture in World History6 reviews Brian Griffith Zed Books, 2001 A very useful, positive and meaningful book + A fantastic journey of suffering and healing + Especially good on the history of women + The history of a growing circle of desertification + More story than science, but a big, important story             The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future59 reviews Riane Eisler Harper San Francisco, 1988 A Vivogenic Template for Human Beings + life changing + The Chalice and the Blade The Chalice and the Blade ranks in the top ten paradigm shaking books of the Late, Great Twen-Cen. Those continuing to puzzle over where we went wrong, as a species, will be well served by this outstanding scholarship.             Religion and Power in Morocco2 reviews Henry Munson Yale University Press, 1993 Crucial insight into popular Islam + Wonderful book :) Munson presents a dimension of North African culture which is commonly veiled to the outside world. He relates a history of popular morality, where those who stood up against tyranny were revered as the greatest saints of Islam. In a world where Western democracies commonly help Middle Eastern ...             A Modern History of the Kurds: Third Edition4 reviews David McDowall I. B. Tauris, 2004 Comprehensive and compelling history of the Kurds + An illuminating side of Near Eastern history + What a dismal reality! + details every Turkish,Persian,and Arab should read             Searching for Hassan: An American Family's Journey Home to Iran36 reviews Terence Ward Houghton Mifflin, 2002 When in Iran, "expect to suffer from excessive hospitality" + Great read + a accurate portrayal and a touching narrative + WOW             At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for Hope with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land16 reviews Yossi K. Halevi, 2002 What real faith is all about. Amazing. + An honest, humble, inspiring adventure + A study in courage + Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for Hope with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land + Hope             Fundamentalisms Comprehended (The Fundamentalism Project)3 reviews University Of Chicago Press, 2004 More than you may bargain for + Both insightful and entertaining + Fundamentalisms Comprehended. I read the first volume of this Fundamentalism Project, Fundamentalisms Observed (The Fundamentalism Project), and this volume. The three intermediate valus may go into more detail than any layperson would desire, as do each of these two volumes I read. The benefit is that the material covered, as ...             Children of Abraham : An Introduction to Islam for Jews7 reviews Khalid Duran Ktav Publishing House, 2001 An appealingly honest introduction Khalid Duran is a wonderful guide, able to speak of his religion in a relaxed, honest, informed and non-defensive way. Here he writes a companion volume to Jewish scholar Reuven Firestone's "Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Judaism for Muslims", and the two books form a genuinely civilized ...             The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism18 reviews Stephen Schwartz Anchor, 2003 Insightful, well researched, and disturbing + A must read for every man, woman and child that is not Muslim... In "The two Faces of Islam", Stephen Schwartz locates the primary source of fanatically intolerant Islam in the world today, finding its origin in the Wahhabi denomination, which is the official religion of Saudi-Arabia. This version of Islam, Schwartz argues, was imposed on Arabia by naked force, ...             The Bookseller of Kabul134 reviews Asne Seierstad Back Bay Books, 2004 Honest and candid account + Insightful look into Afghan culture + Insightful and Compelling + An interesting portrayal of life in Kabul at the beginning of the 21st century + A Glimpse in the Life of an Afghani Family             The Iranian Labyrinth: Journeys Through Theocratic Iran and Its Furies5 reviews Dilip Hiro Nation Books, 2005 And no cheese at the end! + Good insight into a theocratic democracy + More people should read and review! + Admirable balance and detail + Very helpful