Jeremy Bowen has been the BBC`s Middle East correspondent for twelve years & has been on the ground for them as the recent revolutions have swept through the region. Realising this as a game-changing moment in the history of the Middle East, The Arab Uprisings captures the thoughts & feelings of the people involved as the events unfolded, putting these revolutions in their political context, & using them as a prism through which to understand the broader history & landscape of the Middle East. The book will look at the world the demonstrators rejected & its Arab dictators. The author will examine brutal police states, tribal loyalty & foreign help. The West`s response & Israel`s too, will form part of the narrative. This is an urgent & authoritative account of the seismic political changes rocking the Middle East, from one of the foremost reporters of our time. ...

Whether you are a tourist, a business traveler or an expatriate, this book is an essential companion. The Arab World Handbook collects everything into one essential volume. Covering all the countries of the Arabian peninsula
- Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE & Yemen
- it contains advice on planning a visit & making a home in the Arab world. The book covers everything from basic language & pronunciation to etiquette, culture & business practice. There are sections on geography, history, government & the law, plus useful maps & country-by-country surveys.

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Now fully updated to cover the Arab Spring, Eugene Rogan has written an authoritative new history of the Arabs in the modern world. Starting with the Ottoman conquests in the sixteenth century, this landmark book follows the story of the Arabs through the era of European imperialism & the Superpower rivalries of the Cold War, to the present age of unipolar American power. Drawing on the writings & eyewitness accounts of those who lived through the tumultuous years of Arab history, ” The Arabs” balances different voices
- politicians, intellectuals, students, men & women, poets & novelists, famous, infamous & the completely unknown
- to give a rich, complex sense of life over nearly five centuries. Rogan`s book is remarkable for its geographical sweep, covering the Arab world from North Africa through the Arabian Peninsula, & for the depth in which it explores every facet of modern Arab history. Charting the evolution of Arab identity from Ottomanism to Arabism to Islamism, it covers themes including the conflict between national independence & foreign domination, the Arab-Israeli struggle & the peace process, Abdel Nasser & the rise of Arab Nationalism, the political & economic power of oil & the conflict between secular & Islamic values. This multilayered, fascinating & definitive work is the essential guide to understanding the history of the modern Arab world
- & its future.


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THE THIRD EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER, REVISED & UPDATED`A rich, galloping narrative that spans the Arab world...outstanding, gripping & exuberant...full of flamboyant character sketches, witty asides & magisterial scholarship, that explains much of what we need to know about the world today` Simon Sebag Montefiore` Anyone who seeks to understand why the Islamic world bears a grudge against the West should read The Arabs` Sir Alaistair Horne Starting with the Ottoman conquests in the sixteenth century, this landmark book follows the story of the Arabs through the era of European imperialism & the Superpower rivalries of the Cold War, to the present age of unipolar American power. Drawing on the writings & eyewitness accounts of those who lived through the tumultuous years of Arab history, The Arabs balances different voices
- politicians, intellectuals, students, men & women, poets & novelists, famous, infamous & the completely unknown
- to give a rich, complex sense of life over nearly five centuries. Rogan`s book is remarkable for its geographical sweep, covering the Arab world from North Africa through the Arabian Peninsula, & for the depth in which it explores every facet of modern Arab history. Charting the evolution of Arab identity from Ottomanism to Arabism to Islamism, it covers themes including the conflict between national independence & foreign domination, the Arab-Israeli struggle & the peace process, Abdel Nasser & the rise of Arab Nationalism, the political & economic power of oil & the conflict between secular & Islamic values. This multilayered, fascinating & definitive work is the essential guide to understanding the history of the modern Arab world
- & its future.


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` Go to the Aran Islands. Live there as if you were one of the people themselves, express a life that has never found expression.` J.M. Synge did exactly as W.B. Yeats suggested &, revisiting these harsh yet beautiful specks of land off Ireland`s west coast over a period of five years, created a literary masterpiece. Synge immersed himself in the islanders` lives as they steered their curaghs through Atlantic waves, mourned their dead, celebrated weddings & suffered the horrors of eviction. The Aran Islands weaves their stories with Synge`s own & the result, as Colm Tóibí­n has observed, is that ` Unlike most travel books of 100 years ago, it has not dated at all.` This is the first paperback edition in which Jack B. Yeats`s unforgettable drawings, commissioned for the first Dublin edition, have appeared alongside Synge`s haunting prose. Samuel Beckett was a lifelong admirer of Yeats`s `extraordinary craftsmanship` before which, he believed, `one can simply bow, wonder-struck`. ...

In 1907 J. M. Synge achieved both notoriety & lasting fame with The Playboy of the Western World. The Aran Islands, published in the same year, records his visits to the islands in 1898-1901, when he was gathering the folklore & anecdotes out of which he forged The Playboy & his other major dramas. Yet this book is much more than a stage in the evolution of Synge the dramatist. As Tim Robinson explains in his introduction, ” If Ireland is intriguing as being an island off the west of Europe, then Aran, as an island off the west of Irel&, is still more so; it is Ireland raised to the power of two.” Towards the end of the last century Irish nationalists came to identify the area as the country`s uncorrupted heart, the repository of its ancient language, culture & spiritual values. It was for these reasons that Yeats suggested Synge visit the islands to record their way of life. The result is a passionate exploration of a triangle of contradictory relationships
- between an island community still embedded in its ancestral ways but solicited by modernism, a physical environment of ascetic loveliness & savagely unpredictable moods, & Synge himself, formed by modern European thought but in love with the primitive.
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The archaeology & architecture of Afghanistan have never been the subject of their own book before; through concise description & discussion Edgar Knobloch here reveals their importance both as works of art, & as symbols of the country`s past, geography & character. Tracing the historical & cultural development of artistic & architectural styles, this book comprehensively examines the major sites, with detailed description of their buildings & decoration. The extent to which these structures were influenced by Afghanistan`s long history of war & invasion
- from Alexander the Great to the present day
- is discussed against a clear & informative outline of the country`s past & present. Illustrated with evocative photographs of both monuments & daily life, the book describes in detail the artistic movements & achievements of Afghanistan, while constantly reminding the reader that these images, taken by the author in 1978, show a cultural heritage which may no longer exist. Edgar Knobloch studied Middle Eastern History at the Charles University & the Oriental Institute in Prague. He has visited, researched & photographed archaeological sites & architectural monuments throughout the Islamic world. His photographs have been exhibited at the British Museum, the Royal Geographic Society & the School of Oriental & African Studies.

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In this definitive book, prominent archaeologist John M. Camp presents an up-to-date survey of the monuments of ancient Athens & Attica to create a complete archaeological tour of the area. Camp`s lavishly illustrated work will appeal not only to scholars & students of Greek civilization but also to visitors exploring the ancient sites. ...

The second thrilling adventure in a new historical series from million-copy-selling Caroline Lawrence, set in Roman Britain during the reign of the evil Emperor Domitian. Britannia AD 94. On the run from the Emperor Domitian, fifteen-year-old Fronto has joined the Roman army in order to find the security & structure he craves. But when his younger sister Ursula is captured by a terrifying Druid called Snakebeard, he must make an impossible decision. Can he leave the army, when desertion is punishable by death? His desire: To become a good soldier His quest: To rescue his sister His destiny: To find his place in Roman Britain From the bestselling author of THE ROMAN MYSTERIES, perfect for children studying at Key Stage 2. Historical locations featured in this book are a British Iron Age Village, Bath Spa & the fortress at Caerleon. ...

This innovative book is the first to provide a fun, interactive way to learn about architecture. Filled with an array of beautiful & elegant drawings, it poses all manner of architectural challenges for the user: from designing your own skyscraper, to drawing an island house or creating a Constructivist monument, plus many others more. Aimed at anyone who loves drawing buildings, it encourages the users to imagine their own creative solutions by sketching, drawing & painting in the pages of the book. In so doing, they will learn about a whole range of significant architectural issues, such as the importance of site & materials, how to furnish a space, how to read plans, how to create sustainable cities & so on. The book also

Includes:: numerous examples of works & ideas by major architects to draw inspiration from & will appeal to everyone from children to students to architects.

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