Philip Robins
A History of Jordan
An informative, brief history of Jordan and its monarchy from the 1920s to the present by a professor of politics at Oxford. Robins was previously a Jordan-based correspondent for the BBC and The Guardian.
Marguerite van Geldermalsen
Married to a Bedouin
“Where you staying?” the Bedouin asked. “Why you not stay with me tonight – in my cave?” Thus begins the fascinating odyssey of a young nurse from New Zealand who would marry and raise her family among the community of 100 Bedouin families living in the ancient city of Petra.
Jenny Walker
Lonely Planet Jordan
A practical guide in the popular series, featuring maps, tips and much sightseeing information.
Cartographia
Jordan Map
A folded, colorful map of Jordan at a scale of 1:700,000.
Kristine K. Kershul
Arabic, a Language Map
This durable, foldout card gives easy phonetic pronunciation for several hundred of the most commonly-needed words and phrases.
National Geographic
National Geographic Atlas of the Middle East
These maps graphically illustrate the history, politics, people and resources of the Middle East. With 40 photographs and 80 maps, including a two-page spread on each of the 16 nations.
G.W. Bowerstock
Roman Arabia
A remarkable history of the Romans in the Arab world. For the traveler with scholarly inclinations, this lucid book provides essential background to the Roman archaeological sites in the Middle East.
Karen Armstrong
Islam, A Short History
Armstrong brings authority and experience to this vivid, clear-headed survey of the history and impact of Islam, from the birth of Mohammad to present-day challenges.
Scott Anderson
Lawrence in Arabia
The four spies and adventurers who star in this captivating account – the British T.E. Lawrence, the German archaeologist Curt Prufer, the American oil agent William Yale and the Zionist agronomist and spy Aaron Aaronsohn – played an outsized role in the making of the modern Middle East.
Benjamin Orbach
Live from Jordan, Letters Home from My Journey through the Middle East
Orbach’s down-to-earth, eyewitness report of daily life, attitudes and politics in Jordan.
Jane Taylor
Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans
Petra’s history from the Stone Age to the Nabataeans (who constructed the city) through the Crusades is documented with 150 full-color photographs.
Liddell Hart
Lawrence of Arabia
A lively biography of T. E. Lawrence (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia), long the standard. With 17 photos and 10 maps.
T.E. Lawrence
Seven Pillars of Wisdom, A Triumph
The monumental story of Lawrence of Arabia, as colorful and long as the famous movie it inspired. Some of the action is set around Wadi Rum in Jordan.
Diana Abu-Jaber
The Language of Baklava
In this evocative culinary memoir, the Jordanian-American novelist recalls growing up with her gregarious, homesick Jordanian father, who cooked to remember the place he came from and to pass that connection to his children. With one recipe per chapter.
Anthony Sattin
The Young T. E. Lawrence
The untold story of how the young T.E. Lawrence, an awkward archaeologist out of Oxford, first fell in love with Arab culture, embarking on the journey that would transform him into the legendary Lawrence of Arabia.
Bruce Feiler
Walking the Bible, A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses
An account of a 10,000-mile trek through the Biblical lands of the Middle East in the company of an Israeli archaeologist. It’s part travelogue, part pilgrimage, and part quest for religious meaning.
Alexander William Kingslake
Eothen
Originally published in 1844, this sly account of journeys throughout the Middle East and Asia Minor, including Constantinople, Smyrna, Cairo, Damascus and Petra, takes the form and tone of a letter to a good friend: conversational, ironic, hugely funny and personal.
Agatha Christie
Appointment with Death
Hercule Poirot steps into the story when an American tourist on a grand tour of the Holy Land is found murdered in Petra.
Dorothy Gilman
Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist
Mrs. Pollifax must smuggle a manuscript out of Jordan, a document that encodes the shocking truth of Saddam Hussein’s reign.
Hanan Al-Shaykh
Women of Sand and Myrrh
Four women in an unnamed Arab country struggle for personal autonomy in this novel by a Lebanese author known for her beautiful and explicit prose.
Neil Folberg
In a Desert Land, Photographs of Israel, Egypt and Jordan
A stunning collection of photographs of the desert Middle East, including the Sinai, Petra and Jerusalem.
J Greenberg
Fishwatcher’s Field Guide Red Sea
This double-sided plastic card shows 64 of the most commonly encountered reef fish of the Red Sea in full-color illustrations, convenient for the boat or beach.
Richard Porter, Simon Aspinall
Birds of the Middle East
An outstanding guide to 700 species of the birds in the region from the Arabian peninsula to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Cyprus. Second edition.