Embark on an immersive journey through the captivating history of Jordan, a land steeped in ancient tales and enduring traditions. In this amazing text-only book, you'll explore the heart of a nation that has witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations, the clash of empires, and the resilience of its people.From the whispers of ancient ruins to the majestic desert landscapes, "The History of Jordan" invites you to uncover the stories that have shaped this remarkable nation. Through its pages, you'll traverse the sands of time, delving into the lives of the Nabateans who carved cities into stone cliffs, experiencing the echoes of Crusader battles, and tracing the path of the Umayyad dynasty's splendor.This book isn't just a collection of facts; it's a portal into the past that lets you walk in the footsteps of historical figures, explore architectural marvels, and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of Jordan's heritage. Whether you're a history enthusiast, a traveler eager to delve deeper into a nation's identity, or someone simply curious about the world's stories, this book promises to captivate your imagination.As you turn each page, you'll be transported to a time when empires clashed, caravans traversed ancient trade routes, and cultures converged. The vivid descriptions and engaging narrative will paint a picture of Jordan's past that leaves a lasting impression on your mind."The History of Jordan" is a text-only masterpiece that invites you to explore the nation's history in all its complexity. It's an invitation to become a part of the stories that have shaped a nation and its people. So, if you're ready to embark on a literary journey that spans millennia and touches the very soul of a nation, this book is waiting to be your guide. Purchase your copy today and unlock the secrets of Jordan's captivating history. Read more

Since the publication of the first edition, substantial changes have occurred in the political landscape of Jordan and the Middle East. King Abdullah II has cemented his rule amidst an onslaught of threats which have faced his kingdom since he succeeded his father in 1999. The Syrian civil war has fundamentally shifted the political context of its neighbouring countries, with Jordan experiencing a huge population explosion as people moved across the border from Syria. This second edition of Robins' accessible and succinct survey of Jordanian political history is an account of a century of events within a country whose fortunes are closely identified with its heads of state. Beginning in the early 1920s in the Mandate years, and now benefiting from new material on the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, attempts at democratisation, the collapse of the economy, the Jordan Spring and refugee crisis, this new edition featuring original research brings Jordan's political history into the twenty-first century. Read more

Formerly known as the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’, an island of economic stability and social progress, Lebanon was shattered by a civil war that raged from 1975 until 1990. Pitting the central government against different factions and alliances of Christians, Sunni and Shi’a Moslems, leftists, and Syrian armed forces, this multifaceted conflict experienced a major escalation when Israel launched an invasion with the aim of destroying the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), in 1982.Also known as the First Lebanon War, or Operation Peace for Galilee, the Israeli enterprise was run in cooperation with Christian allies and the self-proclaimed Free Lebanon State. Except for attacking the PLO and surrounding its leadership in West Beirut, it provoked a major showdown with Syrian armed forces deployed inside Lebanon, and resulted in a series of bitter battles. Ever since, fighting on the ground and in the sky of the Beka’a Valley is a synonym for modern-day conventional air-land battle in the age of high-technology warfare.Focusing on military-related developments, and rich in exclusive details and illustrations, ‘Lebanese Civil War: Israeli Invasion, 1982’ is dissecting military forces, their equipment, intention and capabilities, and their combat operations. Read more

Jordan’s diverse socioeconomic make-up encapsulates, like no other Middle Eastern state, both the array of pressing short-term problems facing the region, and the underlying challenges that Arab states will need to face once the current spate of civil conflicts is over: meaningful youth employment, female participation in politics, and integration of refugees into society. This book tells the story of Jordan through the lives of ordinary people, including a political cartoonist, a Syrian refugee, a Jihadist and a female parliamentarian. The raw voices and everyday struggles of these people shine a fresh light on the politics, religion, and society of a culture coming to terms with the harsh reality of modernisation and urbanisation at a time of regional upheaval. With her deep knowledge of Jordan’s landscape, language and culture, Rana Sweis sketches an intimate portrait of the intricacies and complexities of life in the Middle East. Rather than focusing on how individuals are affected by events in the region, she reveals a cast of characters shaping their own lives and times. Voices of Jordan shares those stories in all of their rich detail, offering a living, breathing social and political history. Read more

The dramatic and inspiring story of one woman's incredible journey into the heart of a man and his nation.Born into a distinguished Arab-American family, Lisa Halaby was a strongly independent young woman. After studying architecture at Princeton, her work on projects in the Middle East gave her a profound understanding both of the links between the environment and social problems, and also of the tumultuous history of the Arab nations.Then, in 1974, her life took a very different turn, when her father introduced her to the world's most eligible bachelor, King Hussein of Jordan. After a whirlwind romance, she became Noor Al Hussein, Queen of Jordan.With eloquence and honesty, Queen Noor speaks of the obstacles she faced as a young bride and of her successful struggle to create a role for herself as a humanitarian activist. She tells of her heartbreaking miscarriage and the births of her four children, along with her continuing support for King Hussein's campaign to bring peace to the Arab nations. But most of all this is a love story - an honest and engaging portrait of a truly remarkable woman and the man she married. Read more

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first comprehensive account of the epoch-making Six-Day War, from the author of Ally―now featuring a fiftieth-anniversary retrospective Though it lasted for only six tense days in June, the 1967 Arab-Israeli war never really ended. Every crisis that has ripped through this region in the ensuing decades, from the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to the ongoing intifada, is a direct consequence of those six days of fighting. Writing with a novelist’s command of narrative and a historian’s grasp of fact and motive, Michael B. Oren reconstructs both the lightning-fast action on the battlefields and the political shocks that electrified the world. Extraordinary personalities―Moshe Dayan and Gamal Abdul Nasser, Lyndon Johnson and Alexei Kosygin―rose and toppled from power as a result of this war; borders were redrawn; daring strategies brilliantly succeeded or disastrously failed in a matter of hours. And the balance of power changed―in the Middle East and in the world. A towering work of history and an enthralling human narrative, Six Days of War is the most important book on the Middle East conflict to appear in a generation.Praise for Six Days of War“Powerful . . . A highly readable, even gripping account of the 1967 conflict . . . [Oren] has woven a seamless narrative out of a staggering variety of diplomatic and military strands.”―The New York Times “With a remarkably assured style, Oren elucidates nearly every aspect of the conflict. . . . Oren’s [book] will remain the authoritative chronicle of the war. His achievement as a writer and a historian is awesome.”―The Atlantic Monthly “This is not only the best book so far written on the six-day war, it is likely to remain the best.”―The Washington Post Book World “Phenomenal . . . breathtaking history . . . a profoundly talented writer. . . . This book is not only one of the best books on this critical episode in Middle East history; it’s one of the best-written books I’ve read this year, in any genre.”―The Jerusalem Post “[In] Michael Oren’s richly detailed and lucid account, the familiar story is thrilling once again. . . . What makes this book important is the breadth and depth of the research.”―The New York Times Book Review “A first-rate new account of the conflict.”―The Washington Post “The definitive history of the Six-Day War . . . [Oren’s] narrative is precise but written with great literary flair. In no one else’s study is there more understanding or more surprise.”―Martin Peretz, Publisher, The New Republic “Compelling, perhaps even vital, reading.”―San Jose Mercury News Read more

In this vivid first-person narrative, a Special Operations Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) and his commanding general give fascinating and detailed accounts of America’s fight against one of the most barbaric insurgencies the world has ever seen. In the summer of 2014, three years after America’s full troop withdrawal from the Iraq War, President Barack Obama authorized a small task force to push back into Baghdad. Their mission: Protect the Iraqi capital and U.S. embassy from a rapidly emerging terrorist threat.  A plague of brutality, that would come to be known as ISIS, had created a foothold in northwest Iraq and northeast Syria. It had declared itself a Caliphate—an independent nation-state administered by an extreme and cruel form of Islamic law—and was spreading like a newly evolved virus. Soon, a massive and devastating U.S. military response had unfolded. Hear the ground truth on the senior military and political interactions that shaped America’s war against ISIS, a war unprecedented in both its methodology and its application of modern military technology. Enter the world of the Strike Cell, secretive operations centers where America’s greatest enemies are hunted and killed day and night. Plunge into the realm of the Special Operations JTAC, American warfighters with the highest enemy kill counts on the battlefield. And gain the wisdom of a cumulative half-century of military experience as Dana Pittard and Wes Bryant lay out the path to a sustained victory over ISIS.  For more information about the book, visit www.huntingthecaliphate.com. Read more

The formidable strongholds built by the crusaders are among the most iconic castles of the Middle Ages. These mighty structures offer fascinating insights into the lives of those who built and occupied them, and the role they played in the region’s deep history of conflict. The castle of Kerak, in modern Jordan, is one of the largest, most imposing and best preserved of them all, and Michael Fulton’s detailed, authoritative and highly illustrated account is the ideal guide to it. His close analysis of the fabric of this monumental building, and his description of the centuries of conflict associated with it, make absorbing reading. He takes the reader through the early military history of the castle – from the time it was constructed in the 1140s by Pagan the Butler, through the provocative actions of Reynald of Châtillon and Saladin’s capture of the castle in 1188. He also recounts its later history under Muslim rule, when the castle served as a treasury for the Ayyubid and Mamluk sultans of Egypt. Falling into decline under the Ottomans, Kerak has since regained its importance as a tourist attraction. A part-by-part examination of the castle and surviving elements of the adjoining medieval town allows readers to appreciate the different stages in the development of this incredible structure and to visualize how it evolved and functioned at different points in time. The detailed architectural guide will be an essential reference for readers who have the opportunity to visit the castle and for those who are keen to gain the best possible understanding of it without going to the site. Read more

Born into a distinguished Arab-American family and raised amid privilege, Lisa Halaby was in the first co-educational freshman class at Princeton, graduating in 1974 with a degree in architecture and urban planning. Then, in 1976, she was introduced, on an airport runway, to King Hussein of Jordan, a direct descendent of the prophet Muhammed. In less than two years, she was his wife, Noor al-Hussein, Queen of Jordan.With eloquence and candour, Noor talks frankly of the many challenges of her life as wife and partner to the monarch, providing both an intimate portrait of the late King Hussein and his quest for peace in the Middle East, and a moving account of the demands his public role as a world statesman placed on the royal couple's private life.Sharing a personal perspective on the past three decades of world history, Leap of Faith highlights Queen Noor's views on Islam and the West; the challenges of rearing her family; her work as Queen and humanitarian activist; and her struggles to protect her husband as he slipped into the illness that would kill him in 1999. Her story is filled with recollections of the world's most powerful and interesting people: Queen Elisabeth, Jimmy Carter, Pierre Trudeau, Yassar Arafat and Anwar Sadat.In the wake of September 11, Noor reflects on the true message of Islam and the ongoing violence in the Middle East from her unique perspective with a deep and abiding understanding of Arab aspirations and history.Leap of Faith is refreshingly candid and clear-eyed, a true love story set against the turbulent politics of the last thirty years. Read more

In an eloquent and candid memoir, the Queen of Jordan describes her youth in a privileged Arab-American family, her Princeton education, and her marriage to King Hussein of Jordan, providing an intimate portrait of the late monarch and his quest for peace in the Middle East, their private life together, her work as a queen and activist, and the message of Islam in the wake of September 11. 200,000 first printing. Read more

In May 1967, Egypt expelled the United Nations peacekeeping forces stationed in the Sinai desert and deployed its army along its border with Israel, its moves coordinated with those of Jordan and Syria. By June, Israel realized that the international community would not act, and so it launched a pre-emptive strike against the combined Arab forces. The ensuing Six Day War was a crushing defeat for the Arab world, one that tripled the area controlled by Israel and which sowed the seeds for the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and the continuing strife in the region. Written by the author of Osprey's Yom Kippur War, this volume covers the background to the war and the campaign against the Egyptians in the Sinai Peninsula, including the initial devastating air assault that showed the world how vital air supremacy was in modern combat. Read more

Following the lightening destruction of the Egyptian forces at the outbreak of the Six Day War, Israel turned to the forces of Jordan and Syria, with whom Egypt had signed a mutual-defence pact, and which had now entered the war. Jordan's army moved against West Jerusalem and central Israel, while Syria began shelling Israeli towns from the seemingly impregnable Golan Heights. The IDF's invasion of the Golan was as daring and successful as its more famous Egyptian victory, but its success in Jordan - taking the West Bank - sowed the seeds of its future troubles. Comprehensively illustrated with artwork, maps and battlefield views, this new history brings one of the most important of 20th century campaigns to life. Read more

Roland Dallas'' biography of the late King Hussein of Jordan is the story of an extraordinary man, the survivor of several assassination attempts and a man who was equally at home at a Bedouin campfire or the controls of a Jumbo Jet.' Read more

The Nabataean Arabs were one of the most remarkable peoples of the Ancient World but are today known only for their hauntingly beautiful rock-carved capital - Petra. Though seen most clearly at Petra, vivid traces of their creativity and control also appear in the Hejaz region of Arabia, among the wild rock formations of Wadi Rum, along trade and pilgrimage routes in the Sinai, and in towns and temples throughout Jordan and into Syria. This illustrated book recounts the story of a lost civilization - the development of their multifaceted culture, their relations with their neighbours and the demise of their kings and kingdom. Read more

The minbar of Saladin, an intricately designed wooden pulpit, was one of the masterpieces of Islamic art. Made in the 12th century, on Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem it was placed in the al-Aqsa Mosque, where it remained for almost 800 years. Then, in 1969, it was burned down by an Australian fanatical Christian. This book charts the difficult process of reconstructing the minbar from scratch, a challenge made even more difficult by the lack of the necessary skills and the loss of the secrets of its original construction and decoration. Thus it covers both Islamic art and the revival of lost traditional skills.Table of ContentsForeword by HRH Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad of Jordan • Introduction by HRH Prince Charles • 1. Crossroads of Conflict: The Minbar of Saladin’s Place in History • 2. The Destruction of the Minbar and the Aftermath • 3. Islamic Art: Sacred Geometry, Harmony and Balance • 4. Rebuilding the Minbar: The Quest for Lost Knowledge and Skills • 5. The Solution: The Man Who Solved the Puzzle • 6. The Minbar Reconstructed • Further Reading Read more

First published in 1980, the Jordanians presents historical and statistical data as well as an entertaining and witty narrative that treats the reader to a peek into the Middle Eastern cultural heritage, its diversity and humanity. It shows why, even after drastically changing their lifestyles to keep up with the world around them, the Jordanians still cling to their traditions of humanity, compassion and hospitality. Read more

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The text relates the history of Petra, from the earliest Neolithic settlers, through the Edomites to the Nabateans, the still-mysterious people who created the city as seen today. The stunning photos do full justice to this historical monument, a city literally carves from stone and set in a mountainous wilderness of awesome beauty. Read more