Category Archives: Middle East

Implausible Deniability

Posted on April 19, 2024 by nathanalbright

From time to time it is important to remember that denial is not only a river that runs through Egypt, but a river that potentially runs through every human heart and mind. Such is the case, it would appear, with … Continue reading →

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Book Review: All Strangers Are Kin

Posted on April 16, 2024 by nathanalbright

All Strangers Are Kin: Adventures In Arabic And The Arab World, by Zora O’Neill My generally positive review of this book that I give is dependent on my reading of the author’s self-presentation as being deliberately critical. To the extent … Continue reading →

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Escalatory Retaliation, Or How History Feels When It Is Being Written

Posted on April 14, 2024 by nathanalbright

I happened to glance at my phone as I was getting ready to leave services and go to dinner, and found that on both Skype and Telegram, a dear friend of mine (who happens to live near the center of … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Rome And Persia

Posted on March 16, 2024 by nathanalbright

Rome And Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry, by Adrian Goldworthy For a large amount of world history, Persia has been a world power, and this was especially true in the ancient world, where three Persian dynasties ruled over large … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Xenophon’s Retreat

Posted on March 11, 2024 by nathanalbright

Xenophon’s Retreat: Greece, Persia, And The End Of The Golden Age, by Robin Waterfield What is the value of a book like this, which seeks to summarize Anabasis by Xenophon, a classic work that had world-historical importance in showing to … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Iran Rising

Posted on February 22, 2024 by nathanalbright

Iran Rising: The Survival And Future Of The Islamic Republic, by Amin Saikal For some people, at least, the continued survival of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the face of the frequent opposition of its population to the rule … Continue reading →

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A Crisis In Search Of An Explanation

Posted on January 19, 2024 by nathanalbright

What does Iran want? When twice within the course of a week a nation manages to provoke difficulties on two fronts, it is fair to wonder what sort of conditions are leading a nation’s leaders to engage in what others may … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Six Days

Posted on December 22, 2023 by nathanalbright

Six Days: How The 1967 War Shaped The Middle East, by Jeremy Bowen So long as this book is talking about the action of the Six Days’ War (known as the June War by its Arab losers), the book is a … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Black Wave

Posted on December 13, 2023 by nathanalbright

Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, And The Forty-Year Rivalry Unraveled Culture, Religion, And Collective Memory In The Middle East, by Kim Ghattas It is important to remember that the author is a leftist who thinks of herself as a centrist and … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Opposing Viewpoints: The Middle East

Posted on December 8, 2023 by nathanalbright

Opposing Viewpoints: The Middle East, edited by David M. Haugen, Susan Musser, and Kacy Lovelace As someone who is a fan of the Opposing Viewpoints, I have long enjoyed the way that this particular series gives different viewpoints that can … Continue reading →

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