New Books Network

New Books in Middle Eastern Studies
Najam Haider, “The Rebel and the Imam in Early Islam” (Cambridge UP, 2019)
Najam Haider
The Rebel and the Imam in Early Islam

Cambridge University Press, 2019

New Books in HistoryNew Books in Intellectual HistoryNew Books in Islamic StudiesNew Books in Middle Eastern StudiesNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books in ReligionNew Books in Religion & FaithNew Books Network November 6, 2019 Aaron Hagler

In the absence of any real certainty about the nature and intention of the early sources that tell us the story of the early Islamic period, how can we use them? What sort of methodological approaches may we deploy to elucidate the meanings of texts, often similar in their core... Read More
Bruce Riedel, “Beirut 1958: How America’s Wars in the Middle East Began” (Brookings, 2019)
Bruce Riedel
Beirut 1958
How America's Wars in the Middle East Began
Brookings Institution Press, 2019

New Books in American StudiesNew Books in HistoryNew Books in Middle Eastern StudiesNew Books in National SecurityNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books Network November 1, 2019 Charles Coutinho

In July 1958, U.S. Marines stormed the beach in Beirut, Lebanon, ready for combat. Farcically. they were greeted by vendors and sunbathers. Fortunately, the rest of their mission—helping to end Lebanon’s first civil war—went nearly as smoothly and successfully, thanks in large part to the skillful work of American diplomats... Read More
Dan Jones, “Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands” (Viking, 2019)
Dan Jones
Crusaders
The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands
Viking, 2019

New Books in Christian StudiesNew Books in European StudiesNew Books in HistoryNew Books in Islamic StudiesNew Books in Middle Eastern StudiesNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books in Religion & FaithNew Books Network October 29, 2019 Mark Klobas

Much has been written about the Crusades, the religiously-inspired wars that pockmarked the later centuries of the Middle Ages. Yet for all of the many books on the subject there has been surprisingly little focus on the men and the women who were entangled in these conflicts. In his book... Read More
Joanna Lillis, “Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan” (I. B. Tauris, 2018)
Joanna Lillis
Dark Shadows
Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan
I. B. Tauris, 2018

New Books in Central Asian StudiesNew Books in JournalismNew Books in Middle Eastern StudiesNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Political ScienceNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books in Russian and Eurasian StudiesNew Books Network October 23, 2019 James M. Dorsey

Joanna Lillis’ Dark Shadows, Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan (I. B. Tauris, 2018) takes the reader on a penetrating, colourfully written journey into the recesses of a little known Central Asian nation on the frontier of tectonic shifts across Eurasia. Kazakhstan, a sparsely populated oil-rich former Soviet republic that... Read More
Mohammed Dajani Daoudi, “Teaching Empathy and Reconciliation In Midst Of Conflict” (Wasatia Press, 2016)
Mohammed Dajani Daoudi
Teaching Empathy and Reconciliation In Midst Of Conflict

Wasatia Press, 2016

New Books in Islamic StudiesNew Books in Israel StudiesNew Books in Jewish StudiesNew Books in Middle Eastern StudiesNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Religion & FaithNew Books Network October 22, 2019 Renee Garfinkel

“Moderation in times of extremism is a revolutionary idea. It is a positive, courageous value, as opposed to a defeatist attitude. It is swimming against the tide, rather than following the crowd on a path obviously leading to the abyss. We need to create our own vision rather than just... Read More
Perin Gürel, “The Limits of Westernization: A Cultural History of America in Turkey” (Columbia UP, 2017)
Perin Gürel
The Limits of Westernization
A Cultural History of America in Turkey
Columbia University Press, 2017

New Books in American StudiesNew Books in Eastern European StudiesNew Books in HistoryNew Books in Middle Eastern StudiesNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books in World AffairsNew Books Network October 15, 2019 Robert Elliott

In today’s podcast, host Robert Elliott speaks with Dr. Perin Gürel about her new book The Limits of Westernization: A Cultural History of America in Turkey (Columbia University Press, 2017), which examines how Turkish perceptions of the United States intersected with debates around “westernization” in the twentieth century. In a... Read More
Jennifer L. Derr, “The Lived Nile: Environment, Disease, and Material Colonial Economy in Egypt” (Stanford UP, 2019)
Jennifer L. Derr
The Lived Nile
Environment, Disease, and Material Colonial Economy in Egypt
Stanford University Press, 2019

New Books in African StudiesNew Books in Environmental StudiesNew Books in HistoryNew Books in Middle Eastern StudiesNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books in Science & TechnologyNew Books in Science, Technology, and SocietyNew Books Network October 10, 2019 Lukas Rieppel

In October 1902, the reservoir of the first Aswan Dam filled, and Egypt’s relationship with the Nile River forever changed. Flooding villages of historical northern Nubia and filling the irrigation canals that flowed from the river, the perennial Nile not only reshaped agriculture and the environment, but also Egypt’s colonial... Read More
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