A History of the Arab Peoples
Geez, that took me long enough; I started this book many many months ago and have been reading it in tiny increments. It's just so hard to read while asleep, isn't it? Hourani is not at all boring as historians go, but I am so not History Girl. Anyhoo, this is a survey of Arab history from the time of Muhammad to the present day, in about 450 pages and with tons of helpful maps and dynastic lists and references and whatnot in the back, and cover endorsements by both Daniel Pipes and Edward Said, due to the almost inhumanly careful balance maintained on controversial issues like Israel. Hourani has a very elegant writing style and is a pleasure to read. But still, the book contains a prodigious amount of facts about dead people, so what are you gonna do?