Product Description
The Middle East is a lively and much-needed update of a well-respected work. Based on W B Fisher's book of the same name published in 1978, Anderson provides a comprehensive account of the physical geography which has been so instrumental to the makeup ofthe geopolitics of the region, The book also covers the sociology, religion, society and economy of the region. ... Read more

Product Description
Finding "streams in the desert" has never been more urgent for the peoples of the Middle East. Rapid population growth and a rising standard of living are driving water demand inexorably upward, while the natural supply has not increased since Biblical times. Ensuring a fair and adequate distribution of water in the region is vitally important for building a lasting peace among the nations of the Middle East. Addressing water needs from a geographical perspective, the contributors to this book analyze and assess the impact of scarce water resources in the Jordan River basin countries and territories (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria) as these long-time antagonists work toward peace. After geographical and historical overviews, the authors envision the future--what the water issues may be when Israel and Syria begin negotiating, the "hydro-security" needs of each nation, and the difficulties of planning for uncertainty. Without proposing any one ideal scheme, they discuss the possibilities for cooperative sharing of water resources, while honestly acknowledging the political constraints that may limit such projects. The final essay speaks to the needs of the one party so rarely represented at the negotiating table--the Jordan River itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Studies in Development (Geography & Change)
I thought I was getting a textbook but in fact I ended up getting something I had no use for -- it was just on the Middle East and written for the Junior High School ... the description given on Amazon was inappropriate and misleading..... especially after paying the $$ I did for it. ... Read more

Product Description
The breakup of the Soviet Union and the growing links between the Caucasus, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East have resulted in new strategic dynamics with far-reaching implications for the United States and other major powers. The authors examine the new geopolitics, with special emphasis on the interaction of the region's growing economic importance (especially as a source for oil and natural gas) and on the dramatic changes in military doctrine and technology that will radically change the nature of military conflict and the prospects for arms control. The book contains over 25 new maps of the region. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Dates but still good.
Stratefic Geography and the Changing Middle East came out in 1997 so some information about the region has changed since then but the book provides a sueful introduction into the issues of the middle east such as the importance of oil and gas in the region and these issues have influenced attempts to control the region. The book also focuses on military planning and operations such as the Gulf War andWeapons of mass destruction.

Dry But Worth the Effort
Obviously, this book is not fireside reading and should be seen more as a reference.

Nevertheless, as the authors argue, whatever theory of international relations you subscribe to--clash of civilizations, multipolarity, etc.--the Middle East remains square in the middle of it all and needs to be better understood by the average citizen. If Sept. 11 didn't drive that little lesson home, I don't know what will.

It was fascinating to see how the lay of the land shapes a region's history and even the attitudes of its residents. The book gives ample attention to not just topography, but climate, resources, migration, and how all these factors shape policy and the movement of armies.

Overall, this is a much needed book. There's a lot of data to plough through, but it's worth it. ... Read more

Product Description
Much of the Middle East is in a continuing state of visible, often revolutionary,change in almost every fi eld-social, cultural, economic, political. Although time will have greatly modifi ed the conditions here presented, the author emphasizes those aspects which, being the least ephemeral, were likely to remain valid for some years and indicates the areas in which the most change can be expected. Therefore,in evaluating any change that has occurred, the reader will at least be informed of the conditions out of which-or because of which-such an event occurred. ... Read more

Product Description
As Western powers attempt to redraw the map of the Middle East, Dan Smith uses his forensic skills to unravel this arena of confrontation and instability, from the Ottoman Empire to the present day. With customarily acute analysis, he highlights key issues and maps their global implications to explain why this region has become, and will remain, the focal point for international relations.
Updated Topics Include:
* Demographic data
* The Israel-Palestine situation
* The current war in Iraq
* The situation in Lebanon
* Refugees and migration
* Islam in the world
Copub: Myriad Editions ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The Deep realities of the Mid East Struggles
This slim but definitive book was an absolute breakthrough in understanding what is really happening in the Mid East where our corporate media completely obscures and atomizes the material realities of what drives perpetual war in our times. Here, module by module, are the facts about water, transporation, ethnic histories, demographics, politics, ecological influences, financial competitions and the structure of the oil industry on the ground over which mayhem is strategiclally fomented.What is particularly wonderful is being able to focus on specific pieces of the mosaic of agendas and issues that are beautifully formatted for real ease of access and a sense of being able to master, at a rudimentary operational level, how to understand and simply share with others information that demystifies imperial politics and propaganda.Whatever one seeks to get basically informed, this piece of scholarly and essentialized research and exposition is in my opinion a must to simply feel oriented and possess a rational fraemework and vocabulary to have some stability and stance about the central dynamic of 20th and 21st Century human affairs.William Bronston, MD

An Essential Window into the World's Most Challenging Geography
FIRST: A very important note! As I file this review today, I see 2 other reviews on Amazon, both written in 2007. Those comments -- one praise and one criticism -- are NOT referring to this new edition released in late 2008.

With this new edition in print, I say:

Bravo to Dan Smith and the atlas gurus at the University of California Press. As a journalist specializing in covering religion and culture for leading U.S. newspapers formore than 30 years, I can tell you: It's volumes like this one that people should keep on their personal quick-reference shelves. That's especially true for preachers, teachers, small-group leaders, students -- and, really, anyone who cares about accurately understanding our turbulent world.

One sign of how much Smith and the University of California Press care about the accuracy of their work is the fact that this is a new Revised and Updated Second Edition of the book, coming quickly on the heels of the first. Smith is head of a UK-based peacemaking group International Alert. He has created other important reference works, including "The Atlas of War and Peace." The Press is publishing an entire series of innovative atlases. Among my own favorites are "The Atlas of Religion" and "The Atlas of Food: Who Eats What, Where, and Why."

Americans have the illusion in the early years of this new century that we carry the world in our pockets 24-7 with our ultra-connected electronic devices. But the truth is that "foreign news" is the most rapidly shrinking area of U.S. news coverage, overall, according to Pew data. What we see, hear and read is really a tiny slice of global news mostly about consumer products and popular culture, occasionally spiced with disconnected splashes of coverage from global hot spots. We wind up with bizarrely skewed impressions of the world -- and most of us sadly fail the basic geography tests that are popularly distributed each year. For example, most of us in America can't correctly place Iran on a global map.

In stark contrast to that challenge, this book is not only a source of useful wisdom -- but it's also downright fun! It's colorful. It's intriguing. You can build clever quizzes from this book to engage students.

Go on -- get it. And contribute to peacemaking simply by knowing a little more about our world.

Inferior to previous works by this author
Unfortunately, the care and attention to the maps that went into previous works by this author (I think here especially of his 1982 collaboration with Michael Kidron, "The War Atlas",) does not seem to have gone into this one.The maps have some glaring errors in them -- but apart from that, instead of letting the maps tell the story (as is done in "The War Atlas" and "The State of the World Atlas",) the author instead relies mostly on text to tell the story -- text that does not seem to have been extensively researched.I even noticed a few typographical errors in my copy.

This is probably useful as a starting point (and ONLY a starting point) for someone with absolutely no knowledge of the Middle East, but I wouldn't take any of the numbers offered here to the bank.

real, really,really good for buy
If you are interested in this theme buyed because is really good. ... Read more

Product Description

The Middle East is a major focus of world interest. This atlas provides accessible, concisely written entries on the most important current issues in the Middle East, combining maps with their geopolitical background. Providing a clear context for analysis of key concerns, it includes background topics, the position of the Middle East in the world and profiles of the constituent countries.

Features include:

• clearly and thematically organised sections covering the continuing importance of the Middle East, the background, fundamental concerns, the states and the crucial issues related to the area
• original maps integrated into the text, placing international issues and conflicts in their geographical contexts
• case studies and detailed analysis of each country, complete with relevant statistics and key facts
• coverage of fundamental considerations such as:

• water shortage
• the petroleum industry
• conflicts and boundary issues

• a comprehensive further reading section, enabling students to cover the topic in more depth.

A valuable introduction to undergraduate students of political science and Middle East studies and designed as a primary teaching aid for courses related to the Middle East in the areas of politics, history, geography, economics and military studies, this book is also an outstanding reference source for libraries and anyone interested in these fields.

Product Description
Until the 1993 first edition of this book, one thing had been missing in Middle Eastern history--depiction of the lives of ordinary Middle Eastern men and women, peasants, villagers, pastoralists, and urbanites. Now updated and revised, the second edition has added six new portraits of individuals set in the contemporary period. It features twenty-four brief biographies drawn from throughout the Middle East--from Morocco to Afghanistan--in which the reader is provided with vantage points from which to understand modern Middle Eastern history "from the bottom up." Spanning the past 160-plus years and reflecting important transformations, these stories challenge elite-centered accounts of what has occurred in the Middle East and illuminate the previously hidden corners of a largely unrecorded world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Serious Stuff
A very good book, but strictly for the serious student of the Middle East because the author utilizes too much historic and political background in the sketches. The references within each profile are difficult to understand and to appreiate by the casual reader. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

The Encyclopedia
Short of understanding Islamic history - nothing else could explain the middle eastern countries better.I am basing my review however on the 4th edition, it was soo good, when I discovered a revised edition was out - I had to get it for reference.

Author's note on updated 2006 edition
As author of Middle East Patterns, I'd like to point out that the paperback and Kindle edition is the fully updated fourth edition, published in 2006 (not the third edition and not the 1989 first edition as currently listed on Kindle). The book is based on my 20 years of experience in the Middle East as a diplomat and geographer and includes scores of updated maps, tables and pictures.

Middle East Patterns covers key topics--oil and gas, ethnic groups and languages, religious and water conflicts. It also includes chapters and maps on all sixteen Middle East countries from Turkey to Iran, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Gulf and Israel. Designed for any reader who follows the news or is planning to travel to the area, it is especially useful for university students, teachers, diplomats, government and not-for-profit representatives, and business executives.

good textbook
good textbook, I got it cause it was cheaper to but it from amazon that through campus bookstore

Geography is destiny in the Middle East
Dr. Held's vast experience working as a Middle East geographer for the U.S. State Department pays off in a comprehensive synthesis showing the importance of natural resources and human culture. He begins with anoverview of Middle Eastern geography: climate, water resources, topography,petroleum, and human settlement.He then treats each country in a chapterthat synthesizes geography, culture and politics.Chapters are wellwritten and illustrated.The book is suffused with the author'sfascination with the variety of human cultures in the Middle East. ... Read more

Product Description

Energy insecurity is not normally associated with the Middle East. However, away from the oil-rich Persian Gulf, the countries of the eastern Mediterranean are particularly vulnerable. Their fossil fuel endowments are low, while their fractious relationships with each other have long fostered wider political insecurities. Focusing on the Jordan Basin (Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Jordan), this timely volume addresses the prospects for the adoption of renewable energy in the oil-poor Middle East. Featuring regional energy experts, it offers an invaluable survey.

After outlining the regional security context, this book first reviews renewable energy policy and practices in the Jordan Basin. It then considers options for greening energy use, including promising pilot projects in North Africa. The initiatives discussed encompass renewable energy finance, energy-efficient rural communities, and solar and wind energy. There is significant potential for an increase in the uptake of renewable energy technologies in the eastern Mediterranean. This window of opportunity has been created by high oil prices, energy infrastructure investment opportunities, and the UN climate change regime. In conclusion, the book considers the institutional conditions for collaborative decision-making on renewable energy. Such cooperation would deliver substantial security and human development benefits to the region, and indeed the world.

Product Description
CROSS REF DEV STUDIES Both Africa and the Middle East have sought alternatives to Western models of development. The last twenty-five years have seen political independence for the states of Africa and increased economic dependence on external aid. The Middle East, resource rich and water poor, continues economically robust but politically unstable. In both regions, widespread poverty continues as does the involvement of the West.
Clearly illustrated with basic maps of the countries discussed, The Changing Geography of Africa and the Middle East presents a systematic review of twenty-five years of development. The book will prove an invaluable guide to the physical, economic, social and political environments of contemporary Africa and the Middle East.
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Customer Reviews (1)

The changing Geography of North Africa and The Middle East
I will submit it after recieving the book ... Read more

Product Description

The Royal Asiatic Society, founded in 1823, was the main centre in Britain for scholarly work on Asia in the nineteenth century, and has been a publisher since 1829.

The Muslim World 1100–1700: Early Sources on Middle East History, Geography and Travel is the second collection of RAS Classics reissued by Routledge in association with the Society. The first, the five-volume Theology, Ethics and Metaphysics (978-0700-71670-8), was published in February 2003.

Product Description
Many of the political problems of the Middle East and North Africa have geographic roots, but material and ideas on spatial relationships in the region have, until now, remained scattered and piecemeal.In this original work, Drysdale and Blake examine the ways in which the geography and politics of the region are intertwined, and focus on the evolution and deficiencies of the contemporary political map. Organized around the themes of partition and integration, the discussion covers such timely issues as the Arab-Israeli conflict, Arab unity, the civil war in Lebanon, regional petroleum development, strategic straits, and the Iran-Iraq war.Throughout, this unique book is richly illustrated with specially drawn maps and diagrams. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is an examination of changing perceptions of both Kurdistan and Kurdish identity over time and space and attempts to project those perceptions onto historical, political and cartographic realities. ... Read more

Product Description
Pick up a newspaper or magazine, or turn on the radio or television, and the words Middle East leap out. People around the globe are becoming familiar with places such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Israel, and not always in a positive sense. These are globalhot spots,where political and social developments are watched very closely. But what about Babylon, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire? Once, long ago, these names caught people s attention. What happened in these places changed the lives of millions of men, women, and children. Yet today, they are usually ignored or simply forgotten. The great empires and kingdoms of the ancient Middle East are overlooked and given up for dead. In this book, however, they all live again. The conquests and achievements of Middle Eastern leaders are revived as lost worlds become, once more, proud places in time. ... Read more

Product Description
Our GLOBAL STUDIES Series provides students with comprehensive background and current information shaping regional cultures and countries of the world today. Each volume features country report essays and maps as well as relevant articles from world-wide publications.

Visit our website for more information and a complete listing of titles: www.mhcls.com/globalstudies/ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Middle East
Gives a good view of the Middle Eastern countries, which to the contrary belief does encompass some countries in Northern Africa.

Up to date coverage
Very recent guide to the history and politics of the Middle East. Though the title "Middle East" is a little misleading. Here, it also encompasses the countries of North Africa. The common theme is a predominent Muslim/Arabic tint.Each country gets a brief synopsis of what is usually millenia of history. Enough, hopefully, to entice you to pursue further reading. Special attention is given to Iraq. The sections on it were written in May 2004 and are probably as recent as you will find in book form, given the delays inherent in publishing. The analysis of the US invasion is sanguine. Some positive points, like the overthrow of a brutal dictatorship. Offset by what the author calls an "unremitting" struggle against guerrillas. ... Read more

Product Description
The countries of the Middle East and North Africa face booming populations and demographic changes that will have huge consequences in the socio-economic and political spheres. Human Capital offers a guide to the many and varied issues that policy-makers will face in addressing this challenge. The book, organized country by country or sub-region and supported by new statistical data and fresh analysis, covers issues of demography and development in the Middle East, the capital value of rising populations, the workings of the labor market, and the impact of migration and urbanization on the region.
... Read more

Product Description
Authors in this anthology examine why the Middle East is a conflict area and how to facilitate peace in the region. Issues discussed include oil profits, sanctions against Iraq, and the Arab-Israeli dispute. (20040901) ... Read more