A History of the Arab Peoples cover art

A History of the Arab Peoples

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

A History of the Arab Peoples

By: Albert Hourani
Narrated by: Nadia May
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 Despite the turmoil of Arab nationalism and fundamentalism, Middle Eastern wars, and oil crises, the history of the Arab world has been little known and poorly understood in the West. One reason may be that, for more than half a century, there has been no up-to-date single volume work that chronicles the story of Arab civilization - until now. Albert Hourani, distinguished historian and interpreter, has written a masterwork, a panoramic view encompassing twelve centuries of Arab history and culture. He looks at all sides of this rich and venerable civilization: the beauty of the Alhambra and the great mosques, the importance attached to education, the achievements of Arab science - but also internal conflicts, wide-spread poverty, the role of women, and the contemporary Palestinian question.(P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks, Inc. Ancient Middle East World

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Arabs cover art
The Qur'an cover art
Blood, Metal and Dust cover art
The Story of Philosophy cover art
A History of the World cover art
Guns, Germs and Steel cover art
C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity cover art
Indian Givers cover art
Worlds at War cover art
A Patriot's History of the United States cover art
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire cover art
Taoism cover art
The Coming of the Third Reich cover art
Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD cover art
A Brief History of the Samurai cover art
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
The one thing I dislike about this excellent history is that it equates Arab with Muslim. This is a great read for a history of Islam and the Islamic peoples and powers. But, while it makes regular mention of non-muslims, and overviews how the groups related, the history begins with the birth of Islam. Nessisarily, a huge part of the political and cultural makeup of the region is excluded to allow a detailed discussion of Islamic history. I missed this information at several points though.

I began this book because I felt I lacked a great deal of knowledge regarding the cultural history that makes this area so important in political life today. As a lay person, it was at some points overly detailed for my needs, but it remained interesting and thought provoking.

A good thought provoking history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Whilst I enjoyed this book I have a few issues on it's focus. 40% of this book focused on history after 1900 ie WW1 and WW2 as well as the history of the cold war in the Middle East. I had hoped more on the rise and spread of Islam as well as the Sunni and Shia schism and the spread of the various sects eg Wahabis and others. There was also very little on the Crusaders or how important this area was in the Middle Ages where Baghdad was practically the centre of the world and a high point of enlightenment at the time.

Arab History

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A detailed review of Arab history, culture and politics. I found the book enlightining. However I also found it dry and hard to follow (to keep engaged), particularly in in the middle chapters. I would have liked more critical analyses of the historic events. Still a good book though.

A good read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a bit stiff for me - little colour or added value analysis - juts a linear history read in a dour tone with author careful not to challenge any sensitivities

Disappointing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Nadia May was a bad choice. The book which a popular one (and the topic most interesting) was made boring and even somewhat confusing. The narrator should have had a better grasp of Arabic, at the least, as there is no shortage of Arab speakers with native English language proficiency!!

Language, please!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book, sympathetically read.

hourani's masterpiece

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is one of the dullest most turgid works of history that I have yet come across. How many times the reader, Nadia May, must have fallen asleep I don?t know!

The author has taken out too large a canvass for his work; he lacks the judgement to distinguish the detail that may be of interest a lay audience or perhaps the nature of this work did not lend itself to any audience but an academic one?

Not for the general reader.

A History that should have been abridged!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This text really did cover all possible bases. I was particularly impressed with how it managed to convey a picture of life for ALL kinds of Arab peoples. In terms of the recording, the text probably doesn't translate that well to audio, which is why some negative reviews seem to have emerged. I thought, however, that the reader did a perfect job of animating complex language in a very listenable way.

Comprehensive, easy-to understand

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
We listen to a lot of history books but we have really struggled with this one. It is read more like a list of events than a flowing story, there's little dialogue to link the facts together. The little that there is presumes pre knowledge, using lots of throw away comments about things I've simply never heard of. Therefore the amount of information, coupled with lack of knowledge means it's just too hard going. My head explodes after 5 mins. The narration is also heavy and forceful. I've fought with the book several times and each time lost - I just can't get into it. Real pity as I was looking forward to it.

More like a university thesis

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.