The grand masterpiece of the great Orientalist Albert Hourani: 'A History of the Arab Peoples' from the beginnings of Islam to the present day. Now available in a new edition with a current afterword that continues the story up to the Arab Spring. Albert Hourani, a traveler between worlds, presents in his elegantly narrated classic the entire history and culture of the Arab peoples since the 7th century. He brilliantly describes the rapid spread of Islam and recounts the scholars, peoples, and events that shaped the Arab world. He depicts the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, the consequences of European expansion, and the conflicts in the region, culminating in the Intifada and the Gulf Wars. The well-known journalist and Islamic scholar Malise Ruthven narrates how things progressed to the Arab Spring in his current afterword.