books offering insight on the Middle East
Discover essential books on the Middle East, from Reza Aslan's *No God But God* to *The Bookseller of Kabul*. Explore history, religion, and culture in this curated reading list.
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No God But God
by Reza Aslan
In this compelling--and profoundly hopeful--book, Aslan demonstrates that Islam has much in common with Christianity and Judaism, and bears seeds of egalitarianism and social reform at its core.
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The Bookseller of Kabul
by Asne Seierstad
This mesmerizing portrait of a proud man who, through three decades and successive repressive regimes, heroically braved persecution to bring books to the people of Kabul has elicited extraordinary praise throughout the world and become a phenomenal international bestseller. The Bookseller of Kabul is startling in its intimacy and its details - a revelation of the plight of Afghan women and a window into the surprising realities of daily life in today's Afghanistan.
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Shiraz in the Age of Hafez
by John Limbert
The fourteenth-century Persian city of Shiraz was home to Shams al-Din Mohammad Hafez Shirazi, a classical poet who remains broadly popular today in modern Iran and among all lovers of great verse traditions. As John Limbert notes, Hafez’s poetry is inseparable from the Iranian spirit -a reflection of Iranians’ intellectual and emotional responses to events.
