THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST

To allay any fears of bias, Pappe (political science, U. of Haifa, Israel) states in his preface his belief that Israel would benefit from being more a part of the Middle East, a view that he says nearly lost him his teaching position in 2002. Designed as an undergraduate textbook, the text uses a comparative approach, which effectively conveys the continuity of experience shared among Arabs throughout the broad area of North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, the Arabian peninsula, and the Gulf states. Two introductory chapters on political and economic history set the broader context. The main text focuses on the experience of everyday people from Ottoman and colonial times through the present. Rural and urban history, popular culture, music, literature, theatre and other media, women, and the many faces of Islam are the chapter topics. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR