# Your favorite books on Middle Eastern history? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 17, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053 "2025-10-17T16:51:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053/1 "2025-10-17T16:51:16Z")
The most recent query about this was [over 10 years ago](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-on-middle-east-history/729774), and I have to assume there has been some good writing since then. I’m particularly interested in the modern Middle East - say, post-WWI. I recently read Fromkin’s _A Peace to End All Peace_ which was excellent, and I started _O Jerusalem!_ by Lapierre and Collins a while back, but had a hard time getting into it (I’ll give it another go sometime soon). Any other favorites? I’m particularly interested in the beginnings of Israel as a distinct country, and its relations with the broader Middle East. A tall order, I know, but any and all suggestions are welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2025, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053/2 "2025-10-17T17:01:25Z")
I think _A Peace to End All Peace_ kinda does what you want. You might like [The Modern Middle East](https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/the-modern-middle-east-9780190074067?cc=us&lang=en&). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053/3 "2025-10-18T03:09:45Z")
If you are looking for a portrait of early Israeli society, [The Sabra: A Portrait](https://www.almogs.org/the-sabra-eng) was interesting. It is definitely not about “the broader Middle East”, however. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053/4 "2025-10-18T11:58:11Z")
_History of the Arabs_ by Philip K. Hitti. Yes, it’s old and out of date, but for everything up to World War I, it’s your single best resource. If you start learning Arab history with Hitti, it provides a solid basis for further study. _Orientalism_ by Edward Said. Like Hitti, an essential text. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053/5 "2025-10-18T12:23:48Z")
Anyone else read the thread title as “Middle Earth History” and get excited for a minute?? ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053/6 "2025-10-20T12:43:40Z")
Thanks, everyone. I’ll look into these. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053/7 "2025-10-20T13:06:20Z")
I was going to recommend [Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muqaddimah), but it’s too early for you. It’s still a good read. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-books-on-middle-eastern-history/1024053/8 "2025-10-20T15:04:51Z")
My favorite: ## [What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East](https://www.amazon.com/What-Went-Wrong-Between-Modernity/dp/0060516054/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LvW1j_JuSFdSs-V-IdQldmnEHQv7MVWyd0OrjdqpkzY6t5XeD8iIPF0Q3lKH7_jv472Oi-GjhgBMmospenLfUz4tPRN-DQfEjS_KtTQlksjWZLp8_QzO9zuCLh5oJXPBV97eXWQyoSDnVwsfrhHd0snU-7iOp_BAiXwYnUBt7zjLmrKsrSgqkORHHS9qMBkbcO0vT3mpxEOLXVMWYXVVSlBGs59F6cx1wrxyaU0QuLw._d-qpsAYoLjfT_0_T0yqMnOvfrDJdcSPQeYxxgYiqEM&dib_tag=se&keywords=what+went+wrong&qid=1760972586&s=books&sr=1-1) by [Bernard Lewis](https://www.amazon.com/Bernard-Lewis/e/B000AP9JRK?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1760972586&sr=1-1) Another I thought was excellent, on one aspect of Middle Eastern history: ## [Palestine Peace Not Apartheid](https://www.amazon.com/Palestine-Peace-Apartheid-Jimmy-Carter-ebook/dp/B000MGAU4S/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22F0IA9CYDFNI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VrjQg3vtnLkKTCvMBn3w5XEsH7ITZNhJFMQJ1uI81ixqVe-4a4dLAJnHThDeNaELh7CXEgBjxtTYqiU5het5E3BUX0VK6PML0VwzhTXbUQCLlFjXAOfmWbBAu4AdyQJie9doSW1vfRfBwEq8NFJnVz3VXPR72Ew4h2deAgwJj_Tgl2kDFz5tQn73jC3uqzpHJVJh32eYiS1O6z7CddXZxm2rVwfa73Vm8mK-t_kuIyw.vRBRIMFUVWcmjJisaJW0uzNa7yp9nkailuxW3aH95jc&dib_tag=se&keywords=peace+not+apartheid&qid=1760972641&s=books&sprefix=peace+not+apartheid%2Cstripbooks%2C142&sr=1-1) by Jimmy Carter