Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary

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This masterful compilation of biographical essays on prominent Middle East and North African political leaders fills a void in the current reference literature. The essays, of substantial length and written by experts, cover 70 persons who have made an impact on world events since World War II. . . . This valuable work is highly recommended for large general collections as well as for scholarly libraries. Library Journal Major Middle Eastern and North African political leaders are profiled in this biographical reference volume. It is one of the few systematic examinations of the political personalities and leaders in this area of the world. The book focuses on the period since World War II, a time that includes the formative years of many of the states, and examines the roles of these Middle Eastern/North African statesmen in the evolution of political life in their own countries or organizations and other political systems in the Middle East/North Africa and beyond. The geographical area covered is more extensive than that usually considered in works on the Middle East and includes Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Moshe Dayan, Saddam Hussein, Golda Meir, Muammar Qaddafi, Anwar al-Sadat, and Yasser Arafat are among the leaders included. They were selected because they are leaders of note who have had a substantial effect on politics in the Middle East and North Africa. The profiles include basic who's who information but reach far beyond that to explore the personal and political evolution of the individuals, their methods, programs, and goals, and their contributions to the political past, present, and probable future of their own countries, the Middle East and North Africa, and the international arena. A brief bibliography of works by and about the subject follows each essay and provides sources of further research and information. Also included are a general subject index and chronology. This comprehensive work will be of interest to historians, teachers and students of Middle Eastern/North African history and politics and, because of its timeliness and relevance to current events, the general reader concerned with what's going on in the world today and why.

Reviews

. . . the profiles included in this volume provide detailed analyses and assessments of the careers and achievements of many of the major Middle Eastern and North African political leaders of the post-World War Two period. The volume is an invaluable reference guide for students of the region, and a must addition to the library of anyone interested in learning about the people who shaped and continue to shape the political landscape of the contemporary Middle East and North Africa.-Middle East Focus
In public and academic libraries these essays will be a valuable counterweight to the impressionistic information one can cull about the region's living leaders from the media. Both the biographies of active politicians and those out of power or deceased should be useful to anyone who wants to understand the present political situations in these countries.-Booklist
Major Middle Eastern and North Afrrican political leaders are profiled in this biographical reference volume. It is one of the few systematic examinations of the political personalities and leaders in this area of the world and focuses on the period since World War II. The profiles include basic 'who's who' information but reach far beyond that to explore the personal and political evolution of the individuals, their methods, programs, and goals, and their contributions to the political past, present, and probable future of their own countries, the Middle East and North African, and the international arena. A brief bibliography of works by and about the subject follows each essay and provides sources of future reserach and information.-Shofar
This masterful compilation of biographical essays on prominent Middle East and North African political leaders fills a void in the current reference literature. The essays, of substantial length and written by experts, cover 70 persons who have made an impact on world events since World War II. Designed to be used as a basis for further research, the subjects are cross-referenced and indexed by country and topic. A detailed chronology of events is included, and each entry is followed by a list of works by and about the person. . . . This valuable work is highly recommended for large general collections as well as scholarly libraries.-Library Journal
This volume profiles 70 men and women who have had a significant impact on the political development of the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East and North Africa, Iran, Israel, and Turkey, since WW II. The entries are in alphabetical order and include biographical details, analyses of the individuals' personal development and impact on the political evolution of their countries, and short bibliographies of works by and about the entrants (the latter category largely in English). The personalities included were chosen by surveying major works about the region and by querying specialists about potential subjects. Essays, by 52 scholars and other specialists range in length from 4 to 12 pages. The volume also includes a chronology of events from 1869 to 1989, a short bibliography of general works on the political elite of the region, notes on each contributor, an index by country of the personalities included, and a general index listing each person profiled as well as events, other persons mentioned in the entries, organizations, and places. This title is strongly recommended for libraries of all types, as it not only provides succinct analyses of leaders well known in the West, but also synthesizes information that may otherwise be difficult to locate and in languages other than English on political figures whose names are not immediately recognized by the general reader.-Choice
." . . the profiles included in this volume provide detailed analyses and assessments of the careers and achievements of many of the major Middle Eastern and North African political leaders of the post-World War Two period. The volume is an invaluable reference guide for students of the region, and a must addition to the library of anyone interested in learning about the people who shaped and continue to shape the political landscape of the contemporary Middle East and North Africa."-Middle East Focus
"In public and academic libraries these essays will be a valuable counterweight to the impressionistic information one can cull about the region's living leaders from the media. Both the biographies of active politicians and those out of power or deceased should be useful to anyone who wants to understand the present political situations in these countries."-Booklist
"Major Middle Eastern and North Afrrican political leaders are profiled in this biographical reference volume. It is one of the few systematic examinations of the political personalities and leaders in this area of the world and focuses on the period since World War II. The profiles include basic 'who's who' information but reach far beyond that to explore the personal and political evolution of the individuals, their methods, programs, and goals, and their contributions to the political past, present, and probable future of their own countries, the Middle East and North African, and the international arena. A brief bibliography of works by and about the subject follows each essay and provides sources of future reserach and information."-Shofar
"This masterful compilation of biographical essays on prominent Middle East and North African political leaders fills a void in the current reference literature. The essays, of substantial length and written by experts, cover 70 persons who have made an impact on world events since World War II. Designed to be used as a basis for further research, the subjects are cross-referenced and indexed by country and topic. A detailed chronology of events is included, and each entry is followed by a list of works by and about the person. . . . This valuable work is highly recommended for large general collections as well as scholarly libraries."-Library Journal
"This volume profiles 70 men and women who have had a significant impact on the political development of the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East and North Africa, Iran, Israel, and Turkey, since WW II. The entries are in alphabetical order and include biographical details, analyses of the individuals' personal development and impact on the political evolution of their countries, and short bibliographies of works by and about the entrants (the latter category largely in English). The personalities included were chosen by surveying major works about the region and by querying specialists about potential subjects. Essays, by 52 scholars and other specialists range in length from 4 to 12 pages. The volume also includes a chronology of events from 1869 to 1989, a short bibliography of general works on the political elite of the region, notes on each contributor, an index by country of the personalities included, and a general index listing each person profiled as well as events, other persons mentioned in the entries, organizations, and places. This title is strongly recommended for libraries of all types, as it not only provides succinct analyses of leaders well known in the West, but also synthesizes information that may otherwise be difficult to locate and in languages other than English on political figures whose names are not immediately recognized by the general reader."-Choice

Author Bio

BERNARD REICH is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Political Science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He serves as a consultant to various United States government agencies on Middle Eastern affairs, Chairman, Advanced Area Studies (Fertile Crescent) at the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute and is a member of the adjunct faculty of the Defense Intelligence College and the Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management. Reich is the author of Quest for Peace, The United States and Israel, Israel, the Middle East and North Africa, Israel Faces the Future (Praeger Publishers, 1986), The Powers in the Middle East (Praeger Publishers, 1987), and Israeli National Security Policy (Greenwood Press, 1988).