Select Bibliography
FOR THIS SELECT and highly subjective bibliography, I have deliberately neglected the bestsellers—the Thomas Friedmans and Robert Fisks—in favor of less well-known but equally important books by writers like Sami Zubaida, Zuhair al-Jezairy, Fawwaz Traboulsi, and Hanan al-Shaykh. Likewise, those familiar with Middle Eastern food will already know Claudia Roden and Paula Wolfert; here are lesser-known cookbooks by Sonia Uvezian, Nawal Nasrallah, Malek Batal, and Barbara Abdeni Massaad. Sahtain.
FICTION AND PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Abinader, Elmaz. Children of the Roojme: A Family’s Journey from Lebanon. University of Wisconsin Press, 1997.
Awwad, Tawfiq Yusuf. Death in Beirut (Published in Arabic as Tawaheen Beirut or “Millstone Beirut”). Three Continents Press, 1984.
Fassihi, Farnaz. Waiting for an Ordinary Day: The Unraveling of Life in Iraq. Public Affairs, 2008.
Hage, Rawi. De Niro’s Game. Harper Perennial, 2008.
Jezairy, Zuhair al-. The Devil You Don’t Know: Going Back to Iraq. Saqi, 2009.
Kadi, Joanna, ed. Food for Our Grandmothers: Writing by Arab-American and Arab-Canadian Feminists. South End Press, 1994.
King, Alan. Twice Armed: An American Soldier’s Battle for Hearts and Minds in Iraq. Zenith Press, 2006.
Maalouf, Amin. The Rock of Tanios. Abacus, 1995.
Makdisi, Jean Said. Beirut Fragments: A War Memoir. Persea, 1999.
Samman, Ghada. Beirut ’75. University of Arkansas Press, 1995.
Shaykh, Hanan al-. Beirut Blues. Anchor, 1996.
———. The Locust and the Bird: My Mother’s Story. Pantheon Books, 2009.
Stark, Freya. Baghdad Sketches. Marlboro Press, 1996.
Yahia, Mona. When the Grey Beetles Took Over Baghdad. Peter Halban, 2000.
HISTORY AND NONFICTION
A Community of Many Worlds: Arab Americans in New York City. The Museum of the City of New York/Syracuse University Press, 2002.
Aburish, Saïd K. Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge. Bloomsbury, 2000.
———. The St. George Hotel Bar. Bloomsbury, 1989.
Ajami, Fouad. The Vanished Imam: Musa Al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon. Cornell University Press, 1992.
Badre, Leila. “Post-war Beirut City Centre: A Large Open-Air Museum.” Study Series 9, International Committee for Museums and Collections of Archaeology and History, 2001.
Batatu, Hanna. The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq: A Study of Iraq’s Old Landed and Commercial Classes and of its Communists, Ba’thists, and Free Officers. Saqi, 2004.
Blanford, Nicholas. Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East. I.B. Tauris, 2006.
Bou Akar, Hiba. Displacement, Politics, and Governance: Access to Low-Income Housing in a Beirut Suburb (bachelor in architecture). American University of Beirut, 2000.
Bowen, Jr., Stuart W. Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience (Draft Document). Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, February 2, 2009.
Cockburn, Andrew and Patrick. Out of the Ashes. HarperCollins, 1999.
Damrosch, David. The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh. Henry Holt, 2006.
Eisenstadt, Lt. Col Michael. “Iraq: Tribal Engagement Lessons Learned,” Military Review, September–October 2006.
Goitein, Shlomo. Studies in Islamic History and Institutions. Leiden, Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1966.
Ibn Khaldun, Abdurahman. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. N. J. Dawood, ed., Franz Rosenthal, trans. Princeton University Press, 2004.
Irwin, Robert. Night and Horses and the Desert: An Anthology of Classical Arabic Literature. Anchor Books, 2002.
Jabar, Faleh A. The Shi’ite Movement in Iraq. Saqi, 2003.
Jahiz, Abu ‘Uthman ‘Amr ibn Bahr al-. Jim Colville, trans. Avarice and the Avaricious (kitab al-bukhala’). Kegan Paul International, 1999.
———. R. B. Serjeant, trans. The Book of Misers: A Translation of al-Bukhala. Garnet Publishing Limited, 1997.
Johnson, Michael. All Honourable Men: The Social Origins of War in Lebanon. I.B. Tauris (in association with the Centre of Lebanese Studies), 2001.
Karsh, Efraim, and Rory Miller, “Freya Stark in America: Orientalism, Antisemitism and Political Propaganda,” Journal of Contemporary History vol. 39, no. 3 (July 2004).
Kassir, Samir. Histoire de Beyrouth. Librairie Arthème Fayard, 2003.
Kennedy, Philip F. “Dangling Locks and Babel Eyes: A Biographical Sketch of Abu Nuwas.” From Abu Nuwas: A Genius of Poetry. Makers of the Muslim World Series. Oneworld Publications, 2007.
Khalaf, Samir. Heart of Beirut: Reclaiming the Bourj. Saqi, 2006.
Khalil, Samir al- (aka Kanan Makiya). The Monument: Art, Vulgarity and Responsibility in Iraq. Andre Deutsch, 1991.
Khater, Akram Fouad. Inventing Home: Emigration, Gender, and the Middle Class in Lebanon, 1870–1920. University of California Press, 2001.
Kovacs, Maureen Gallery, trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford University Press, 1989.
Lapidus, Ira M. A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Lassner, Jacob. The Topography of Baghdad in the Early Middle Ages: Text and Studies. Wayne State University Press, 1970.
Mas’udi, Ali al-. Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone, trans., ed. The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids. Kegan Paul International, 1989.
Mitchell, Stephen. Gilgamesh: A New English Version. Free Press, 2004.
Salibi, Kamal. A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered. University of California Press, 1990.
Sandars, N. K., trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Penguin Books, 1972.
Teixeira, Pedro. The Travels of Pedro Teixeira, 1609. London: The Hakluyt Society, MDCCCCII.
Thomas, Bertram. Alarms and Excursions in Arabia. Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1931.
Thompson, Elizabeth. Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. Columbia University Press, 2000.
Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
FOOD
Appadurai, Arjun. “How to Make a National Cuisine: Cookbooks in Contemporary India.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 30, no. 1 (January 1988), pp. 3–24, Cambridge University Press.
Baghdadi, Muhammad al-. Charles Perry, trans. A Baghdad Cookery Book. Prospect Books, 2005.
Batal, Malek, ed. The Healthy Kitchen: Recipes from Rural Lebanon. American University of Beirut Press, 2008.
Bottéro, Jean “The Culinary Tablets at Yale,” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 107, no. 1 (January—March 1987), pp. 11–19.
———. “The Most Ancient Recipes of All,” from Patterns of Everyday Life. David Waines, ed. The Formation of the Classical Islamic World, vol. 10. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2002.
———. The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia. University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Collingham, Lizzie. Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford University Press USA, 2006.
Ellison, Rosemary. “Methods of Food Preparation in Mesopotamia (c. 3000–600 BC).” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 27, no. 1 (1984), pp. 89–98.
Flandrin, Jean-Louis, and Massimo Montanari, eds. Food: A Culinary History, English edition by Albert Sonnenfeld (Penguin Books: 2000/First published by Columbia University Press, 1999).
Goody, Jack. Food and Love: A Cultural History of East and West. Verso, 1998.
Hattox, Ralph S. Coffee and Coffeehouses: The Origins of a Social Beverage in the Medieval Near East. University of Washington Press, 1985.
Homan, Michael M. “Beer and Its Drinkers: An Ancient near Eastern Love Story.” Near Eastern Archaeology, vol. 67, no. 2 (June 2004), pp. 84–95.
Jones, Martin. Feast: Why Humans Share Food. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Karim, Kay. Iraqi Family Cookbook
: From Mosul to America. Iraqi Family Cookbook, LLC, 2006.
Kurlansky, Mark. Salt: A World History. Walker and Co., 2002.
Limet, Henri. “The Cuisine of Ancient Sumer.” The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 50, no. 3 (September 1987).
Manning, Richard. Against the Grain: How Agriculture has Hijacked Civilization. North Point Press, 2005.
Mardam-Bey, Farouk. Ziryab: Authentic Arab Cuisine. Ici La Press, 2002.
Massaad, Barbara Abdeni. Man’oushe: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery. Alarm Editions, 2005.
———. Mouneh: Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry. Self-published, 2010.
Mintz, Sidney W. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. Penguin Books, 1985.
Nasrallah, Nawal. Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine. 1stbooks, 2003, 2004.
———. Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens. Brill, 2010.
Potts, Daniel. “On Salt and Salt Gathering in Ancient Mesopotamia.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 27, no. 3 (1984), pp. 225–271.
Symons, Michael. A History of Cooks and Cooking. Illinois University Press, 2004.
Uvezian, Sonia. Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen. The Siamanto Press, 1999.
van Gelder, Geert Jan. God’s Banquet: Food in Classical Arabic Literature. Diane Publishing Co, 2000.
Waines, David. “Cereals, Bread and Society: An Essay on the Staff of Life in Medieval Iraq.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 30, no. 3 (1987), pp. 255–285.
Wright, Clifford. A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean, from the Merchants of Venice to the Barbary Corsairs, with More Than 500 Recipes. William Morrow and Company, 1999.
Yazbeck, Chérine. The Rural Taste of Lebanon: A Food Heritage Trail. Self-published, 2009.
Zubaida, Sami, and Richard Tapper, eds. A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East. Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2000.
Zurayk, Rami, and Sami Abdul Rahman. From ‘Akkar to ‘Amel: Lebanon’s Slow Food Trail. Slow Food Beirut, 2008.
FOOD WEBSITES
Accad, Joumana. “Taste of Beirut: Lebanese Food Recipes for Home Cooking,” http://www.tasteofbeirut.com.
Karam Khayat, Marie, and Margaret Clark Keatinge. “Food from the Arab World, 1959,” http://almashriq.hiof.no/general/600/640/641/khayat/
Massaad, Barbara Abdeni. “My Culinary Journey Through Lebanon.” http://my culinaryjourneythroughlebanon.blogspot.com/
Riverbend. “Is Something Burning?” http://iraqrecipes.blogspot.com/
Somekh, Rachel. “Recipes by Rachel: The Jewish-Iraqi Cooking of Rachel Somekh.” http://www. recipesbyrachel.com.
Index
abayas, 92, 127, 128, 131, 134, 137, 140, 161, 222
Abbasid caliphate, 137, 155–56, 276, 280, 319
Abdelghanim (grocer), 309, 310
Abdullah (professor), 209–10, 316
Abel, 59
Abu Abed, 109
Abu Ghraib prison scandal, 112, 139, 147, 149
Abu Hadi (Bassam Badran), 179–81, 301, 312–13, 335–39
Abu Hassane, 36–39, 47, 48–49, 188, 194–208, 229
Abu Hassan restaurant, 260, 281, 284, 286, 288
Abu Hussein, 179, 253
Abu Ibrahim (Mohamad Ali Sadi Gul), 181–82, 320
Abu Nuwas, 94–96, 98
Abu Nuwas Street, 94–98, 103–4, 107, 122, 123, 143, 318
Abu Rifaat, 108–9, 145–49, 154, 162, 169, 316, 319
Abu Shadi, 288–89
Abu Zeinab, 90, 99, 110, 133, 144, 153, 162
Adessa (friend), 266, 310, 321
Adnan (driver), 144
Afghanistan, 26–28, 300, 316
Afghan Kebab House, 26–27, 28, 30, 31–32
agriculture, 59–60, 73, 77, 78, 156, 182, 218–20, 231–32
Ain al-Mreiseh, 313
Ainata, Lebanon, 270–71
akil nafis, 217
Akkadians, 73, 154
al-Akhbar, 301–2
al-Amin, 94
Al-Balad restaurant, 186
albóndigas, 156
Albright, Madeleine, 78–79
al-bunduqieh, 156
alcohol, 94–95, 160, 214–15, 225, 227, 317, 318, 319
al-Dour, Iraq, 120
Alexandria, Egypt, 227
Aley, Lebanon, 207–8
Al-Hayat, 100, 170
al-hijab al-shaitany, 128
Al-Hilwa di Cou Cou, 44
Al-Hurra television, 142, 162
Ali, 286
Ali (editor/poet), 102, 142, 161
Ali Babas, 56, 57, 61
Ali Fahs, 219–20, 263–65, 267
Al-Jazeera television, 48, 169, 260
Al-Jezairy, Zuhair, 187
Al-Manar television station, 246
al-Mutanabbi (poet), 105
Al-Najeen, 82, 105, 108, 144
al-Qaeda, 29, 232–33
Al-Rasheed Theater, 82
Alwiya Club, 88
Amal, Dr., 137, 139, 159, 160–61
Amal (neighbor), 31
Amal militia, 18, 191, 201–2, 213, 250, 285
American University of Beirut (AUB), 173, 231, 282, 288, 310
Amiram (friend), 316
Amman, Jordan, 51, 55–57, 169
Amneh, Maher, 281, 282
Anbar Province, Iraq, 55, 126–31
Andalus Hotel, 122, 123, 126, 132, 144, 151
Animal Farm (Orwell), 106
An-Nahar, 211
Ansari, Sheikh Khidayer al-, 129–31
Aoun, Michel, 280, 299–300
Apicius, 70–71
apple butter, 67
apples, 231–32
Arabian Nights, 55, 94, 223
Arabic language, 21, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 43, 52, 58, 60–61, 81, 91, 100, 106, 107, 108–9, 118, 119, 131, 134, 156, 177, 179, 182, 186, 193, 195, 196, 200, 203, 214, 223, 227, 228, 229, 230, 233–34, 241, 255, 261, 265, 268, 276, 285, 316, 321
Arab League, 48
Arab Revolt, 51, 107
Arabs, 34–35, 66, 76–77, 111, 141, 143, 154, 156, 315, 318
Arab Tribes of the Baghdad Wilayat, 111
arak, 34, 44–45, 93, 101
Arasat neighborhood, 115
Aristophanes, 161
Aristotle, 160–61
arous, 234
Aruru, 69
Ashrafieh neighborhood, 221–22
Ashura (religious observance), 127, 272
ashura (pudding), 256
Ashurbanipal, 81
Ashurnasirpal, 154
Askari Shrine, 223
Assad, Bashar al-, 307
Assad family, 176
Assyrians, 71, 154, 157
avocados, 181
Awada, Muhammad, 265
Awlad Haratina (Mahfouz), 35
Awwad, Tawfiq Yusuf, 167
Baalbek Street, 178
Baath Party, 76–77, 88, 97, 112, 116, 120, 136, 137, 141, 213, 263
baba ghanouj, 14, 157, 215, 216, 315
Babylonians, 93
badawah (bedouinism), 76
Baghdad:
ancient culture of, 94–97
booksellers in, 105–7
cafés in, 107–10, 144–46
checkpoints in, 122–23, 144
cosmopolitanism of, 62–63, 76, 82–83, 94–97, 105–10, 146–47, 154, 156
crime rate in, 117, 144–45
foreign contractors in, 63, 122, 123–25
Green Zone in, 64, 110, 114, 115, 123, 127, 162
history of, 74–83, 94–97
hotels of, 84–89, 100, 122–25, 144, 149, 153, 154, 158, 169
intellectual life of, 94–97, 105–10, 146–47
medieval period of, 94–95
neighborhoods of, 62, 64, 105–10
pollution in, 97–98
power outages in, 118–19, 122
&n
bsp; Red Zone in, 64, 114
restaurants in, 64–67, 68, 147–49, 154, 156–57
security situation in, 50–51, 64, 110, 114
terrorist attacks in, 102–3, 104, 122, 123, 174, 176
U.S. occupation of, 64, 110, 114, 115, 122–23, 124, 127, 132–49, 162
Baghdad University, 76, 87
Bahi (demonstrator), 281–82, 283, 284
bakeries, 85, 103, 243–44, 251–52, 288–89, 305, 308
baklava, 15, 17
balila, 180
Balsam (neighbor), 305
bamieh, 217–18
banadura shamee (“Damascene tomatoes”), 148
banana cream pie, 163–64, 165
bananas, 74, 163–64, 165
Bang & Olufsen store, 174
banjan burani, 26
baqqals, 97
Barbara (friend), 243
Barbarella Amusement Center, 172
Barbar restaurants, 178–79
barbel, 93
Bardo bar, 310–11
bargaining, 196–97
barley, 59, 72, 102
Barmakids, 276
Baromètre café, 34, 43, 101, 171, 193, 263, 320
Barwari, Nisrine, 135
Basim (sculptor), 108
Basra, Iraq, 85, 93, 94, 108, 137
batata wa bayd mfarakeh, 266–69, 291, 331–32
Batatu, Hanna, 116
Batoul (Bazzi relative), 40, 41, 249, 272, 273
Bauhaus, 76
Bazzi, Ahmad, 18, 20, 31, 36, 208
Bazzi, Hanan, 18, 31, 33, 43, 100, 193, 200, 208, 256–59, 310
Bazzi, Hassan, 18, 31, 200–201, 208, 261–62, 295
Bazzi, Hassane, 18, 21, 203–4, 208
Bazzi, Mohamad:
author’s dating of, 11–14, 17, 25, 26–27, 28, 30–32
author’s marriage to, 35–36, 46–47, 48, 50–52, 87–88, 144, 152–53, 169–70, 194–98, 212–14, 221, 223, 228, 235, 237, 247–48, 257, 262–63, 293, 294–95, 297–98, 299, 311–12, 316
in Baghdad, 46, 47, 55–75, 84–89, 90, 100–101, 113–14, 119, 122, 126, 144, 151–53, 159, 161, 162–65, 176, 183, 194, 224, 297