Reddit mentions of A History of the Arab Peoples: With a New Afterword

Unfortunately, the most efficient way to become knowledgable about the Middle East is to read. A lot. The Middle East is a far more complex place than most people imagine and understanding the region requires a great deal of knowledge. I have been studying the Middle East for nearly a decade and I still feel like there is so much that I do not know. I would start by reading reputable news sources every day. Places like The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, Financial Times, are the Los Angeles Times are good English language news sources that you should look at. Additionally, I have written up a suggested reading list for learning about the Middle East, though it is a bit more security-related since that's my area of expertise. I hope it helps. And feel free to ask any questions if you have them.

Books - General History of the Middle East

• Albert Hourani - A History of the Arab Peoples. This is widely considered to be the definitive book on history in the Arab World.
  
• Eugene Rogan - The Arabs: A History. Another essential and critically acclaimed book on Arab history.
  
• Roy Mottahedeh - The Mantle of the Prophet. Role of religion and religious figures in Iran before and during the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
  
• Mark Lynch - The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East. An outline of the causes, reactions, and consequences of the Arab Spring.
  
• Thomas Barfield - Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History. Afghanistan is usually not considered a part of the Middle East in academic research, so I am including this one. It's probably one of the best overviews of Afghan History.
  
  

  Books - Middle East Military History
  

  
  

• Kenneth Pollack - Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948-1991. Probably the best book on Arab militaries culture and effectiveness and warfare in the Middle East between 1945-1991. Very extensive and informative.
  
• Steven Ward - Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. A well-written history of Iran's military, from the Safavid Empire to the 21st century.
  
• Ahron Bregman - Israel's Wars: A History since 1947. A terrific book outlining Israel's strategic decision making for its military operations since its founding as a country.
  
• Bruce Hoffman - Anonymous Soldiers: The Struggle for Israel, 1917-1947. A look at the establishment of Israel and the development of the current Arab-Israeli conflict.
  
  

  Books - Middle East Terrorism and Substate Violence
  

  
  

• Daniel Byman - Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Global Jihadist Movement: What Everyone Needs to Know. A terrific primer on al-Qaida, ISIL, and jihadism.
  
• Lawrence Wright - The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. Probably the best book for outlining the history of al-Qaida and why 9/11 happened.
  
• Michael Wiess and Hassan Hassan - ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror. One of several recent books on ISIL, this one provides an overview on the history and organization of ISIL.
  
• Barry Rubin - Revolution Until Victory?: The Politics and History of the PLO. Although a little old (published in 1996), this books does a great job chronicling the history of the PLO and its role in the Palestinian struggle.
  
• Ahmed Rashid - Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. One of the best books on the rise and fall of the Taliban.
  
  

  Books - U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East
  

  
  

• Bob Woodward - Obama's Wars. Outline of the U.S. foreign policy decision making towards Iraq and Afghanistan in the early years of the Obama administration.
  
• Kenneth Pollack - The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America. A good overview of tensions between the United States and Iran.
  
• Michael R. Gordon - The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. Follows U.S. strategic and political decision making process during the Iraq War and the U.S. occupation.
  
• Peter R. Mansoor - Surge: My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War. An extensive outline of the development and outcome of the Surge during the U.S. Occupation of Iraq.
  
• Steve Coll - Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. A widely popular and acclaimed book on U.S. covert operations from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan until 2001.
  
• Mark Mazzetti - The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth. An overview of the CIA's targeted killing program against terrorist organizations.
  
• Michael Morrell - The Great War of Our Time: The CIA's Fight Against Terrorism--From al Qa'ida to ISIS. Written by the former acting director of the CIA, this book examines U.S. counterterrorism successes and failures of the past two decades.
  
  

  Think Tanks
  

  
  Below is a list of several different think tanks, which frequently publish everything from extension research and analysis to quick and succinct blog posts about the issues in the Middle East. Some of these think tanks specifically focus on the Middle East, while for others it is only one area of their research.
  
  

• Washington Institute for Near East Policy
  
• Center for Strategic and International Studies
  
• Middle East Institute
  
• Atlantic Council
  
• Council on Foreign Relations
  
• Brookings Institute
  
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  
• Institute for the Study of War
  
• International Institute for Strategic Studies
  
  

  Journals, Blogs, Podcasts, and other Publications
  

  
  

• Foreign Affairs - The premier publication on international politics. Has a paywall, but I recommend it. Also has a podcast.
  
• Foreign Policy - Actually a magazine, its website operates more like a blog. A major publication in the field. Also has a podcast.
  
• War on the Rocks - Reviews international political and security issues, U.S. national security issues, and alcohol. Also has a podcast.
  
• FRONTLINE: Syria At War - Their coverage of the Syrian Civil War. Amazing reporting and film. I highly recommend watching all of it.
  
• Jihadology - A clearing house for primary sources from terrorist organizations. Good place to go if you want to know what the other side is saying. Arabic skills sometimes required. Also has a podcast.
  
• Middle East Week - Looks at issues and topics in the contemporary Middle East that are not frequently talked about.
  
• Syria Comment - Blog run by Joshua Landis, a Syria expert, with frequent quest contributors. Focuses on Syria since before the start of the civil war.
  
• Musings on Iraq - Blog on Iraqi politics and society.
  
• Syria Deeply - A clearing house for news on the Syrian Civil War.
  
• CFR's: The Shia-Sunni Divide - An amazingly detailed and succinct outline of the history and issues behind the Shia-Sunni conflict in the Middle East.
  
• bellingcat - A blog that focuses on open source and social media investigations and analysis on international security issues. A fantastic 21st century approach to international issues.

At Qwill2's request here is my reading for Spring / Autumn 2013.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere it is Spring and I am working my way through a number of books as pre-reading for one MOOC and post-reading for another.

1. Cantwell Smith's : Islam in Modern History.
   
   
2. Gunaratna's : Inside Al-Qaeda
   
   
3. Enayat's : Modern Islamic Political Thought
   
   
4. Hourani's : A history of the Arab Peoples.
   
   
5. Sidahmed and Ehteshami's : Islamic Fundamentalism.
   
   For a differing point of view:
   
   
6. R.T. Naylor's : Satanic Purses : Money, myth and misinformation.
   
   As well I am looking at Pratchett and Baxter's second volume of their Long Earth series
   
   Plus reading for a MOOC I am doing on 'The Future of Storytelling' through iversity in Germany.
   
   All in all a busy few months but I am enjoying it thoroughly.
   

"A History of the Arab Peoples" by Albert Hourani is also very accessible and informative. Your analysis is excellent by the way

That's not wholly fair--several of us have provided good information, not faux scholarship or atheist reactionary rants!

I do want to throw in a few extra points to go with yours. I agree that pre-Islamic Arabia was not as barbarous as is sometimes assumed, however the reforms that Muhammad ushered in were often welcome and needed--giving women rights for example, and forbidding female infanticide.

It is true that we have no proof of Muhammad's illiteracy. Indeed, the first word of the first Qur'anic verse (in terms of chronology), 'iqra (أقرا) can be translated either 'read' or 'recite' so it sheds little light on that (source--Dr. Jamal Badawi's writings and classes).

The Qur'an was written down and compiled under the aegis of Uthman ibn Affan, as we've discussed elsewhere in this thread.

I also agree that many joined the early ummah out of a desire to improve their lot. This wasn't limited to Arabia; when Islam began to spread out from there it was originally meant to be an Arab religion and conversion was discouraged, however many converted in order to enjoy the same benefits as the Muslims did.

A lot of this is made very clear in the best seerah (bio of Muhammad) available in English, which is Martin Lings' Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. A caveat on this book: Lings was a faithful Muslim and wrote from a faith-based position, so it does lose some scholarly objectivity. However its a great read and its easy to maintain your own objectivity as you read it.

Also, Ira Lapidus' A History of Islamic Societies has a good section on pre-Islamic Arabia, as does Albert Hourani's History of the Arab Peoples IIRC.

I recommend all three books to anyone wanting to pursue this subject further.

My knowledge of Middle Eastern history is severely deficient and my understanding of the nature of Islamophobia is null since I don't know shit about Islam. Would anyone happen to know of any good articles on Islamophobia or care comment on it? As for Middle Eastern history I've been thinking of picking up the second edition of Hourani's A History of the Arab Peoples--I've read some pretty great things about it. All I know is that the region's been plundered by Western powers since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War and I imagine that this is generally why the area is so violent both internally and with the West.

Albert Hourani's A History of the Arab Peoples Hourani (British-Lebanese) is a Historian of the Middle East and Arabia.

Of course, however I have to warn you that I prefer to have very holistic view thus I want to read the whole context...

• A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time by Howard M. Sachar who is Professor Emeritus of History and International Affairs at George Washington University. I selected his book not only because it is used as university text book, not only because writers academic record, but because writer has personal connection, he is Jewish. His book covers very well not only history of Israel, but also history of Zionism and its roots. I would say that while the book tries to be neutral, I would say it has more critical outlook on Jews and Israelis.
  
• The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk who is renounced journalists with long career as middle-east correspondent for the The Independent. The book covers more or less everything that has happened since Soviet invasion to Afghanistan to present day. While only part of the book covers Israel, and in very critical manner to put it mildly, it in a sense sets so well the mood to madness that is called the middle-east that it is just so good reading. Note, Robert Fisk is not academic, but his book is well sourced and he himself is an eyewitness with long career and experience.
  
• A History of the Arab Peoples: With a New Afterword by Albert Hourani who was renounced British historian of Lebanese christian descent. I am currently reading this book, but already I have had many moments with it. It should be mentioned that he worked before and during the Israeli war of Independence at the Arab Office in Jerusalem and London, where he helped prepare the Arab case for the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry.
  
  I would recommend these three books as I believe they give very wide context. I would say that history of Zionism deals the most with the conflict and gives really view, at least from the Jewish side, on what happened and why. I think that after I have completed History of Arab Peoples I would want to read some more from the Arab side, but it is quite hard to find good writers with excellent academic credentials.

History. I realized maybe a year ago that my knowledge of pretty much anything pre American Revolutionary War was pitiful. I'm currently reading this which is phenomenal but super dry so it's going slow. It's possibly my writer background but I'm really enjoying how much of early Arab/Muslim history is informed by a desire to write stuff down.