A History of the Arab Peoples Highlighting Edition

by Albert Hourani (Author)

148 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0446393928

ISBN-10: 0446393924

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Encyclopedic and panoramic in its scope, this fascinating work chronicles the rich spiritual, political, and cultural institutions of Arab history through 13 centuries.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hourani examines Arabic-speaking nations of the Islamic world from the seventh century to the present in a volume that spent 12 weeks on PW 's bestseller list and was a History Book Club main selection. Illustrated.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A masterly summation...it is difficult to overestimate the importance of this book." -- Edward W. Said, Chicago Sun-Times

"A splendid achievement...history in the grand style...written with grace and wisdom." -- L. Carl Brown, New York Times Book Review

"A valuable reference book...a joy to read...quite simple, the best general history of the Arab world a reader can buy." -- Boston Globe

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Warner Books; Highlighting edition (April 1, 1992)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 551 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446393924
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446393928
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.38 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,302,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #916 in Middle Eastern History (Books)
- #9,465 in Middle East History
- #26,209 in Historical Study (Books)

Customer Reviews:
148 ratings

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Albert Habib Hourani

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Customer reviews

5 star		73%
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3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Raymond Mcdonnell

This is a classic texrbook with an exhaustive history of the Arab peoples.

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2021

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This is not light reading, it is an academic, extensive history of the Arab peoples covering pre-Islamic times through the 20th century. If you are looking to acquire knowledge of the The Arab culture and the rise of Islam in detail, this is an excellent book to start with. It is a classic textbook on the subject.

One person found this helpful

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Thomas Hallen

Context is important.

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2016

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I needed some background for the complicated situation the world is watching in the Middle East right now, and boy, did I get it. Just a shame that things are changing so hard and fast that the book becomes more and more historical by the day - but what it covers is essential to parse what reporting and the hundreds of different voices claim about what's 'really' going on out there.

If you read this book and still have kneejerk reactions to current events, you're doing it wrong. The book gives one great pause, and that's good.

12 people found this helpful

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Hussain Abdul-Hussain

A distinguished work

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2006

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Distinguished Lebanese-American historian Albert Hourani presents this book that might seem comprehensive to the Westerners but concise to the Arabs. Hourani tries to cover most of the history of the Arab peoples, but this is certainly no easy task. He ends up quickly surveying this history.

Despite its brevity, Hourani's volume is a reference work par excellence. Hourani is well read and his book is well researched. His style is inviting even if the massive number of dates and names might discourage some people who are not familiar with the Arab region.

The book is essential for all Westerners interested in the Arabs and their region. It is history 101 for all those who are willing to embark on such an endeavor. The book is also helpful to Arabs who are not familiar with their history. Overall, the book is a good read even if it might seem academic and a bit boring as you read it.

Of course readers have to keep in mind that writing history is an objective exercise that is never free of the writer's bias. In some instance, Hourani seems to give credit to one group at the favor of another. However, this is history. It is the most probable version from the perspective of its writer.

18 people found this helpful

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Rossy

Thorough and readable

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2017

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How close to 500 pages and 1500 years that's one page for every three years chock-full of info

4 people found this helpful

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K.K.Top Contributor: Coloring

Scholarly but highly readable

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2014

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This is a great asset to my personal library. It is informative, well documented, and scholarly, while at the same time fascinating reading. It has been an enormous help to me as I am studying the cultural-geopolitical history of the Mideast. It is next to impossible to understand the ongoing problems of the Mideast without understanding the history of the Arabs, Iranians and Jewish settlers of that region. This fine book covers the Arab history splendidly.

16 people found this helpful

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Marcela Cruz (and Jaime Granados)

Loved the presentation

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2019

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Beautiful edition

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Nasri Talamas

General, brief and handy reference book

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2019

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I was expecting to find more about the history of the Arabs BEFORE Islam
The book summarize this period.

2 people found this helpful

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Panasonic

COMPREHENSIVE!

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2015

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A very thorough (if not dizzying) summary of Arab history from the time of Muhammad through the late 20th century. I read the book for some historical background to help make sense of the barrage of information (and misinformation) presented to westerners about this part of the world. The author does a very nice job of identifying the divergent developments of various regions (the Maghreb region, Arabian peninsula, modern Iraq and Syria, Egypt, etc. Occasionally I was confused by the abundant lists of names and places - overwhelming at times, but all relevant to the unfolding history as presented by Hourani. I was also encouraged in the purchase and study of this book by the favorable mention of this author in the work of Edward Said, who is a powerful critic of western misinterpretations of Islamic history and culture.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Dommy

Classy work of historical writing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2015

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I purchased this book in order to gain some insight into Arab history as a part of my university course, and this book did just that.

Albert Hourani is an eloquent historian. His style of prose, vast knowledge and expertise and occasional traces of humour make this vast volume enjoyable to read, study - or even both. The book is very ambitious in undertaking to cover the entire period of Arab civilisation, beginning with the Arabian tribes before their unification by Muhammad and his successors, and ending with some of the hotly contested topics of modern Arab history. It provides an essential and perfect companion to any student at university level, looking at Arab, Muslim, Turkish or Ottoman history. It covers the most important stages of Arab civilisation with great skill and ability: the unification, the expansion and conquest, the golden age, the Crusades and so forth - not limited however, just to Arabs. Hourani provides a lucid account of transformations in, for example, the Ottoman Empire, after its conquests of the 16th century incorporated almost the entire eastern Arab world within the Empire.

Overall, I thoroughly recommend this scholarly book, written beautifully and doing exactly what it purports to do.

2 people found this helpful

Ismail Z.

I also thought it was sad that nothing of pre-islam was mentioned like the himyarite ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2017

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Although started off interesting the author does seem to site sources of islamic text on controversial issues that have mixed opinions on the matter. He portrays it to be the only fact which I found dissapointing. I also thought it was sad that nothing of pre-islam was mentioned like the himyarite kingdom, or the tribes of Ad and Thamud. It seems to start just before the start of Islam

One person found this helpful

Gogol

Excellent book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2008

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This book should be (and is in some Universities) mandatory for the study of the Middle East in general and Arab peoples specifically.

Written by Albert Hourani one of the great scholars of the Middle East it is both concise and comprehensive covering centuries of history while presenting the reader with enough detail that they do not feel that they are being cheated by the author skimming over the most important events in history.

The book begins with the beginnings of the Islamic faith and the Islamic empire covering this in rather short chapters before moving onto the Abbasids. While some may feel this is a slightly inappropriate place to start (others Hitti for example, begin with pre Islamic times) It seems Hourani has taken into account much of the Western view that the Middle East has been shaped by Islam and thus, his book should begin where it begins.

The book covers matters of the politics and structure of the various Islamic empires, the culture and arts of these empires, religious sects and revolts and life both in rural areas and in the built up cities. The impact of the west and the Ottoman empire are also given extensive coverage.

While there are several respected writers on Middle Eastern history I have always personally preferred Houranis books. I have found him honest and impartial when dealing with sensitive issues of history not least modern history

16 people found this helpful

Herr Holz Paul

Fact Filled.....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2010

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This book is packed full of information - almost too much, and therefore I think it is the type of work which needs to be re-read in order to glean the full potential from the pages. Definately a good starting point for the reader looking for an introduction to Arab and Islamic history. I was a little confused at times by the occasional and somewhat `unusual` gramatical structure on the page before me, but this is a small gripe and shouldn`t detract from the overall positive impression.

7 people found this helpful

Paul Galbally

An excellent introduction of the history of the Arab people

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2013

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I found this book to be compelling, evocative, and fascinating. Hourani really captures the romance of Arab history, and the events with their own history and that of Islam that still resonate today. It's very well written, remaining fast paced and exciting throughout, I found myself unable to put the book down once I had started it. So if you're interested in this subject, this is definetely one to try.

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