Cultured Travel Guide Books - The State of the Middle East: An Atlas of Conflict and Resolution |
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List Price: $21.95
Our Price: $9.90
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 910
EAN: 9780520248687
ISBN: 0520248686
Label: University of California Press
Manufacturer: University of California Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 144
Publication Date: 2006-10-11
Publisher: University of California Press
Studio: University of California Press |
| Spotlight Customer Reviews: |
Customer Rating: 
Summary: An Essential Window into the World's Most Challenging Geography
Comment: 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 for more 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.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Inferior to previous works by this author
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: real, really, really good for buy
Comment: If you are interested in this theme buyed because is really good.
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| Editorial Reviews: |
A valuable tool for understanding the Middle East and global politics, this innovative and information-packed volume combines clear, analytical text with full-color maps and graphics to provide a comprehensive and accessible guide to the region today. As Western powers attempt to redraw the map of the region, Dan Smith uses his forensic skills to unravel this arena of confrontation and instability. With customarily acute analysis, he highlights key issues and maps their global implications to explain why the Middle East has become, and will remain, the focal point for international relations. Smith includes historical maps that show the making of the contemporary region as we recognize it today, as well as an original risk assessment that gauges the future of the Middle East and its implications for the world at large.
The Atlas covers a wide range of topics, including:
* U.S. presence and policies
* Arab-Israeli wars
* Israel and Palestine
* Iran and Iraq
* Military spending
* The Kurds and ethnic conflict
* Libya and the U.S.
* Oil and water
* Islam in the world
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