A History of the Arab Peoples: Updated Edition

I am reviewing this as a general reader and so cannot comment on any academic points. I and bought this book alongside 'North Africa' by Barnaby Rogerson (which I found more colloquial and a little careless in style and opinions) A History of the Arabs is not an afternoon speed-read by any means - but I found it highly informative. It filled in massive gaps in my knowledge, exacerbated by superficial news items which seldom, if ever, delve into an explanation based on a proper history of the Arab World. We tend to have things presented to us as 'this leader is a baddy so we want to get rid of him for someone better'....until the new ruler's turn in the unpopularity stakes comes in a decade or two. Frighteningly, we seem to back a new regime even when we have no idea what it is or what it will do. The work covers the period from well before Mohammed - the time of the Roman and Byzantine Empires - up to the 1980s - with a useful afterword by Malise Ruthven in 2012. There are detailed descriptions of art, architecture, poetry, language, geography, changing national boundaries and the divisions of Islam - and the rapid spread of the various forms of the religion. To begin to understand the role of Britain in the Arab and Israeli world can make one feel embarrassed and ashamed - though it has been argued that colonisation, even if patronising, is not actually all bad where a there are minorities liable to hostile treatment eg Coptic Christians amongst others. Comments made by Hourani that "Women could still scarcely find a public role other than teacher or nurse" in the Maghrib in the pre WWII years I found amusing - as these jobs would have been a commendable achievement for the women in Hourani's native city of Manchester, Britain,in the 1970s. Also his observations that there were rules - very many years ago - about when women could leave their houses is not dissimilar to the long period of post war UK - the rules were less explicit but there was huge debate about whether married women should work - often taken as a sign of poverty or stealing jobs from the men - and many, e.g. teachers, were expected to resign on marriage - leaving the house was with children, to go shopping or to visit a female relative. Even now most solitary females outside London do not feel comfortable going alone to public houses - and certainly not in the evenings. To become acquainted with the myriad complexities of Islam, the Arab world, ancient "tribal" conquests and recent/current wars this is a great primer - the correct versions of the Arabic names took me some time to get used to but the brain cells benefited, I am sure. The one downside is the maps which I found very poor and not at all easy to use - so you might want a separate map of the North Africa/Mediterranean Basin/Arab Peninsular unless you are already familiar with the areas.

Ideal book for those who are looking for an initial overview of the history of the Arab people and the spread of the Islamic religion.

Bought this for my daughter who is studying Arabic culture/ Language. She is enjoying the read. Would recommend.

This book is important for any person from the western world to read. It will give a clearer understanding of the Middle East, and the Arab people generally, and as importantly the impact of western civilisation on the Arab word. Read it!

Amazing introduction into Arabic history, very empathetic and easy to follow language

I was hoping for a good general history of the people and society, which proved to be too little of the book's focus compared to its consideration of the history of islam

The history of the Arab world interest me

A great book with details about Arab people history. It is an easy read book and a fantastic source of information for Middle Eastern studies students.

Great! Lots of information and new perspectives.

A very lengthy work but will worth time and effort to appreciate the history of the Arab people. Detailed and informative, well researched, and written with clarity. Highly recommended.

One of best written books that I have read. Scholarship and sensitivity is obvious in every elegantly written chapter. The description of the life of the people, the nature of the cities and the different currents underlying events makes this a work of rare quality

Michael HaagのThe Templars（テンプル騎士団）を読んで、あまりに面白かったので、「今度は、敵側のイスラム側の歴史書はないか」と思ったら、The Templarsの本の中で、この本が紹介されていたので買って読んだ。イスラム世界（オスマントルコの事もかなり書いてあって、アラブ史と言うより中東史になっている）で次々に現れる帝国の栄枯盛衰の物語、戦いや事件やなどの記述を期待していたら、そうではなくて、時代時代の中東・イスラム・アラブの人々の生活史が描かれているから、所謂「中東史」を期待する人には向かない。例えば、オスマントルコの時代に800あったアラブ部族は、コーランの教えを中心に共同社会を形成していて、貧しい人々に対して助け合いを行う文化があったが、近代に入って西洋の社会システムに影響を受けると、貧しい人々はより孤立し、益々貧しくなる、みたいな話であるとか、イスラムとキリスト教徒、ユダヤ教徒とどの様に関係し生活ていたか、女性はどんな地位にあったか、オスマントルコはどの様にアラブ部族を掌握していたが、などが中心に展開される。Albert Houraniは、1993年に亡くなっている為に、Malise Ruthvenが、9/11以降のアラブ社会の変遷、アラブの春の意味なども含めて書き加えている

For a beginner this is a good book . But their is room for critical take on some historical events that could be interpreted more profoundly . But nonetheless Albert Hurrani was a great historian, particularly of middle eastern history. I rate him above Bernard Lewis for more honesty and humility.