Recommended: Books

stalking the wild asparagus, Euell Gibbons (great for identifying odd edibles found in the bazaar in Baku)



CENTRAL ASIA/OIL:

Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia, Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac
A review from The Middle East Policy Council Journal

The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland, Karl E. Meyer
Book Review: upeace.org

The New Great Game: Blood And Oil In Central Asia, Lutz Kleveman
Article: thirdworldtraveler.com
http://www.newgreatgame.com/

Crude Politics: How Bush’s Oil Cronies Hijacked The War On Terrorism, Paul Sperry
Author's Website: Sperry Files



MIDDLE EAST:

Imperial Life In The Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, Rajiv Chandrasekaran (12/2006)
Rajiv's Website

Leap Of Faith: Memories of an Unexpected Life, Queen Noor
Personal Page: Her Majesty Queen Noor

Blood and Oil: Inside The Shah’s Iran, Manucher Farmanfarmaian and Roxanne Farmanfarmaian
Family genealogy page: Shajarehnaameh Project Farmanfarmaian

Empires of The Sand: The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923, Efraim Karsh and Inari Karsh
Mediterranean Studies, King's College, London

All The Shah’s Men: An American Coup and The Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer
Wikipedia

Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed The World, Margaret Macillan
Wikipedia

A Peace To End All Peace; The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, David Fromkin
BU Webpage

The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing The History, Mystery, And Lore Of The Persian Carpet, Brian Murphy
A nice blog review of the book - Imad Moustafa:The Blog

Arabia: A Journey Through The Labyrinth, Jonathan Raban
About the author: Jonathan Raban

Expats: Travels In Arabia, From Tripoli To Tehran, Christopher Dickey
Personal Page

Sandstorms: Days and Nights in Arabia, Peter Theroux

Baghdad Without A Map: And Other Misadventures in Arabia, Tony Horowitz

Motoring With Mohammed: Journeys To Yemen and The Red Sea, Eric Hansen



GENERAL TRAVEL:

A House Somewhere: Tales of Life Abroad, Edited by Don George and Anthony Sattin (Lonely Planet)

A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives and Inspiration with Michael Shapiro

Culture Shock: Living and Working Abroad, Monica Rabe

Culture Shock: A Wife’s Guide, Robin Pascoe

Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell




MOST RECENTLY READ:

River In The Desert: A Modern Traveler In Ancient Egypt, by Paul William Roberts


CURRENTLY READING:

The Best American Travel Writing, Tim Cahill, Editor