Middle East Patterns: Places, People, and Politics

Now in its sixth edition, Middle East Patterns continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative geographical study of the region. Colbert C. Held and John Thomas Cummings introduce the Middle East from a topical perspective and then provide in-depth country-by-country coverage. The sixth edition maintains the book's well-received framework and distinctive focus on a wide range of geographical patterns—ethnographic, economic, and political—while integrating updated comparative material on natural resources and human and social development. New sections on health issues, business environments, and the historical US presence in the region expand the book's ample coverage. Richly illustrated with more than 125 photos and 70 maps, this acclaimed book remains the best accessible resource for students and general readers who seek to understand the spatial dynamics of the Middle East. Visit middleeastpatterns.com for historical timelines, archived content from the fifth edition, and updated material on current situations in the Middle East.

Table of Contents:
Condensed Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgments A Note on Transliteration Part One: Physical and Cultural Geography 1. Tricontinental Junction: An Introduction 2. The Face of the Earth 3. Patterns of Time: Historical-Geographical Foundations 4. Patterns of Peoples, Cultures, and Settlements 5. The Desert and the Sown: Land Use 6. Riches Beneath the Earth 7. Manufacturing and Transportation 8. The Earth and the State: Geopolitics Part Two: Regional Geography 9. Syria: Middle East Heartland 10. Lebanon and Cyprus: A Mountain and an Island 11. Jordan: The Land Beyond and Between 12. Israel, Palestine, and Disputed Territories 13. Iraq: Modern Mesopotamia 14. Saudi Arabia: Development in the Desert 15. The Gulf and Its Oil States 16. Oman and Yemen: The Southern Fringe 17. Egypt: A River and a People 18. Turkey: Bridgeland in Anatolia 19. Iran: Complex Republic on the Plateau Glossary Geological Time Chart Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Colbert C. Held taught at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, then served for fifteen years as a Foreign Service Officer with assignments in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, as well as successive temporary missions in every country in the Middle East. He later became Diplomat-in-Residence at Baylor University. John Thomas Cummings has spent nearly thirty years as a development economist in the Middle East with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAID, and the World Bank. He has taught economic development and international economics at Al-Hikma University (Baghdad), Suffolk University, Tufts University, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Review :
"A fine sourcebook and text on the Middle East." --The Professional Geographer "If there is one book to read this year on the Middle East, this is the one!" --Choice "...informative and instructive about a fascinating region." --Middle East Quarterly "Contemporary, accessible and informative." --The Midwest Book Review "This timely revision of this already highly regarded text is just what we need to keep us abreast of developments in the Middle East. The treatment of economic factors, including natural resources, ecology, and land use patterns, sheds much light on the potential for economic cooperation and competition in the region over the next decade. Combined with its concise summaries of the linguistic and cultural underpinnings of the area, this work provides us the background we need to place contemporary political developments in context." --Charles O. Cecil, US Ambassador, retired "A fine sourcebook and text on the Middle East." —The Professional Geographer "If there is one book to read this year on the Middle East, this is the one!" —Choice "…informative and instructive about a fascinating region." —Middle East Quarterly “Contemporary, accessible and informative.” —The Midwest Book Review "This timely revision of this already highly regarded text is just what we need to keep us abreast of developments in the Middle East. The treatment of economic factors, including natural resources, ecology, and land use patterns, sheds much light on the potential for economic cooperation and competition in the region over the next decade. Combined with its concise summaries of the linguistic and cultural underpinnings of the area, this work provides us the background we need to place contemporary political developments in context." —Charles O. Cecil, US Ambassador, retired