History of the Middle East/Islam Book Recommendations?

[Clueless Morgan]

I took a world history class in college which contrasted Chinese and European history (so I guess it wasn't a comprehensive "World" history course but whatever, it was interesting) and ever since then I've been frustrated in realizing how little I know about the history of the non-European/North American/Central American world.

With that said, I've finally decided that my next to complete ignorance about the history of the Middle East and about Islam needs to be rectified.

If anyone has any book recommendations they can offer for good material about the Middle East or the history of the rise of Islam in that region I'd really appreciate it!

For sake of clarification, when referring to the Middle East I'm referring to any country from Turkey to Pakistan; that whole region may not technically classified as the Middle East but to my knowledge that's the general scope of the Islamic world of Eurasia so far as where it is dominant. I suppose I know next to nothing about Islamic Africa, either, or really Africa in general, besides Egypt, but that's a different topic.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can point me in the direction of a good author or a good resource to allay my ignorance!

[Minimalist]

Sheeesh.... that's some task.

When you speak of the Mid East you are talking about some of the oldest, continually occupied, places on earth in an area from Catal Huyuk south through Jericho to Egypt. Signs of towns go back 9-10,000 years (bible-thumping idiots not withstanding.)

So I'm guessing that what you really mean is the history since the muslim conquest? What you really need is a book called "How to Die for Your Phony God - No Matter Which One It Is" but I'm not aware of any such book. On Islam I would recommend Robert Spencer's "Did Mohammed Exist." The muslims around here will go birdshit because Spencer treats their precious religion roughly but you won't learn anything from some guy who can't say two words without praising allah or some shit. Spencer regards Mohammed as a literary creation, similar to jesus and all the others, around whom a religion was created. Politically, this is unimportant. Islam, like xtianity, exists and is the major player on the set from the 7th century onward.

On the other side, I know of no book which could deal in sufficient depth with the slice of history from the Roman Empire, through the Byzantine Empire, the Crusades, the Re-Conquista in Spain, the constant fighting between the Turks and the Balkan states, right up to WWI. I have heard of one called "Lost to the West" which is a history of the Byzantine Empire and it got fairly good reviews but I haven't read it.

Good luck with this project.

[Clueless Morgan]

[Angrboda]

I don't have any suggestions specifically relating to books, but to my mind, history is one of those subjects which requires looking at it from both the bird's eye view as well as the worm's eye view. Unfortunately, this usually involves a lot of ping-ponging. Rather than that, I would suggest spending a number of nights link hopping through Wikipedia. It's accessible, easy to digest, and you can cover a lot of ground at both zoom levels while getting a feel for the overall contours of the subject. To a lesser extent you can use the references for looking at what gets quoted and referenced in the literature. It also allows you to remain motivated by zooming in on detail that captures your fancy, in or outside of Wikipedia, to keep your interest level high.

Beyond that, if you really want to study the period, I suggest devoting time to researching bibliographies on the subject, both online and in books about the subject (sometimes it's worth it to borrow a book to see where it leads, even if you don't read the book).

[KichigaiNeko]

[Minimalist]

[Clueless Morgan]

[Minimalist]

It's just a .pdf. I also have epub and mobi versions of "Did Mohammed Exist" among a few others. PM an email address.

[Cheerful Charlie]

I took a world history class in college which contrasted Chinese and European history (so I guess it wasn't a comprehensive "World" history course but whatever, it was interesting) and ever since then I've been frustrated in realizing how little I know about the history of the non-European/North American/Central American world.

With that said, I've finally decided that my next to complete ignorance about the history of the Middle East and about Islam needs to be rectified.

Try Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times, by Donald Redford for a general history of ancient Near East and Egypt.
There are a jillion books on Islam. The Cambridge History of Islam in 2 volumes is good and not horribly expensive.
The history of Israel and Judea tend to be entangled in Near Eastern archaeology. A good start here would be Israel Finkelstein's Unearthing the Bible and William Deavers Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come from?
Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt (Chronicles) by Peter Clayton gives a good chronological timeline of Egypt's pharohs and Egyptian history.

Some books can be found online. William Muir's works on Islamic history at the internet atrchivve for example. Old but still useful reading.

The History of the Arab Peoples is a good book for that. By Albert Hourani

[Clueless Morgan]

Thanks, Cheerful Charlie! I'll definitely look into your recommendations.

Minimalist sent me the ebook for The Bible Unearthed and I'm reading it now and it's been a great and very interesting look into the archeological history of the Near East. (Thanks again, Min!)

I'm also listening to a series called The Great Courses on the Early Middle Ages which has touched briefly on the emergence of the Byzantine Empire and the socio-economic developments in that area of the world, as well as a little bit about the spread of Christianity and Islam across Europe. So far it's been an interesting overview of the time period but I definitely want to delve deeper into the rise of the Byzantine Empire and the history of Persia.

My lunchtime book, The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond, is also touching upon the prehistoric and ancient Middle East a bit - it's currently talking about the development and spread of the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) and where it might have originated and how it spread, and also talking about the development and spread of agriculture.