{"id":1457,"date":"2006-01-09T07:53:00","date_gmt":"2006-01-09T12:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.blog-city.com\/you_say_hourani_i_say_ajami.htm"},"modified":"2006-01-09T07:53:00","modified_gmt":"2006-01-09T12:53:00","slug":"you-say-hourani-i-say-ajami-lets-call-the-whole-thing-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/sandbox\/2006\/01\/you-say-hourani-i-say-ajami-lets-call-the-whole-thing-off\/","title":{"rendered":"You say Hourani, I say Ajami, let’s call the whole thing off"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Back in the fall, Garth Hall, a grad student and research assistant at the American University in Cairo, sent an email to 202 professors of Middle Eastern studies. Hall asked them to “jot down what you think are the ten most interesting, informative, and readable nonfiction books in the last century of Middle East studies… And if you could, please write one sentence on why you chose the book you did for your first choice.” (Details here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Of those queried, 52 responded, and so did I. Having skimmed Hall’s instructions, I forgot them when I got around to the chore: I thought he wanted ten books, in no particular order, and a comment on each. Maybe that’s why I don’t see my name on the list of respondents: I disqualified myself by not making a top choice. In any case, here’s my list in alphabetical order by author, with my original comment on each book. I did this in a hurry, and I wouldn’t fight to the death for every choice, but the list gives an idea of the approach that I value. (Caveat: I kept to books on modern history and politics. Otherwise I’d have filled up quickly with Oleg Grabar on Islamic art, S.D. Goitein on medieval Egypt, Andr\u00e9 Raymond on the Ottoman city\u2014for starters.)<\/p>\n