Middle World

Why do Muslim-majority countries exhibit high levels of authoritarianism and low levels of socioeconomic development in comparison to world averages? Ahmet T. Kuru criticizes explanations that point to Islam as the cause of this disparity, because Muslims were philosophically and socioeconomically more developed than Western Europeans between the 9th and 12th centuries. Nor was Western colonialism the cause: Muslims had already suffered political and socioeconomic problems when colonization began.

In September 1984, Lisa Paul, an American college student and nanny living in Moscow, entered Inna Meiman’s house for her first Russian language lesson. And so began a two–year friendship and a fight for Inna’s life. In Swimming in the Daylight, Lisa chronicles her friend’s struggle to shed her refusenik status, obtain a visa to America, and find medical treatment for her malignant cancer. Inna endured a perverse reality as a citizen of the Soviet Union....

जंगलात राहणारी ही लॉरा नावाची छोटी मुलगी आता थोड़ी मोठी होते आणि शाळेत जाते तेव्हा तिच्या आयुष्यात घडणा-या या गोष्टी. राजश्री जोशींच्या मधाळ आवाजात ऐका आनंदी आनंद गडे मधे.

प्रीती हि वेलीसारखीच आहे. प्रीती म्हणजे केवळ यौवनाच्या प्रेरणेतून उद्भवणारी वासना नव्हे! तर सार्‍या संसाराचा आधार आहे ती! पण या वासनेला जेव्हा खोल भावनेची जोड मिळते, तेव्हाच प्रीती ही अमृतवेल होते. मग या वेलीवर करूणा उमटते, मैत्री फुलते.

हेच वि. स. खांडेकर यांनी उदाहरण देऊन पटवून दिले आहे. पहिले प्रेम हे कधीही अंतिम सत्य नसते कधी कधी पुन्हा झालेले प्रेमही पहिल्या प्रेमापेक्षा श्रेष्ठ असू शकते.

प्रेम आणि राग या दोन्ही प्रवृत्ती जागृत करणारी ही एक सशक्त कलाकृती आहे.

स्वाती चांदोरकर लिखित मराठी कादंबरी "एक पायरी वर".

لم تكن أشعة شمس الشتاء الهادئة لتمنع عنه ذلك الإحساس عندما التقت عينه بعينها وسط زحمة إشارة الإسعاف بالقرب من ميدان رمسيس، المعبر الوحيد له للخروج من حي شبرا الذي يقتنه وصولًا إلى وسط البلد، بالتحديد "قهوة صالح" الذي إعتداد على الجلوس عليها مع بعض الأصدقاء التي جمعتهم الصدفة معًا في مظاهرة أو ندوة ثقافية أو من تلك المجموعة المتسلقة التي تبحث لنفسها عن دور في الحياة فتمهنت من الثورية سبيل لها تخفي بها ضمور حياتها.

On March 21, 1968, Yasir Arafat and his guerrillas made the fateful decision to break with conventional guerrilla tactics, choosing to stand and fight an Israeli attack on the al-Karama refugee camp in Jordan. They suffered terrible casualties, but they won a stunning symbolic victory that transformed Arafat into an Arab hero and allowed him to launch a worldwide campaign, one that would reshape Cold War diplomacy and revolutionary movements everywhere. In The Global Offensive, historian Paul Thomas Chamberlin offers new insights into the rise of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

In this original and evocative book, we accompany Raja on six walks taken between 1978 and 2006. The earlier forays are peaceful affairs, allowing our guide to meditate at length on the character of his native land, a terrain of olive trees on terraced hillsides, luxuriant valleys carved by sacred springs, carpets of wild iris and hyacinth, and ancient monasteries built over 1,000 years ago. Shehadeh’s love for this magical place saturates his renderings of its history and topography.

Almustafa, the chosen and beloved, must leave the port of Orphalese upon the ship he has waited upon for 12 years. As he descends to the waterfront, the people of Orphalese gather to question him and hear his wisdom on important topics of their daily lives. Kahlil Gibran's masterpiece is a series of enlightening, philosophical answers to those questions. The inspirational and spiritual words of The Prophet, written in an almost Biblical, poetic style, reveal deep insights into each of the subjects in question.

Best friends Tamanna and Yasmine cannot believe their good fortune when a school is set up in their Afghan village; however, their dreams for the future are shattered when the Taliban burn down the school and threaten the teacher and students with death. As Tamanna faces an arranged marriage to an older man, and the Taliban target Yasmine’s Western-educated family, the girls realize they must flee.

In this extraordinary book, an acclaimed young war reporter chronicles a dangerous journey on the smuggler’s road to Europe, accompanying his friend, an Afghan refugee, in search of a better future.

Struggling to reconcile the Muslim society he was living in as a scientist and physician and the religion he was being raised in, Ali A. Rizvi eventually lost his faith. Discovering that he was not alone, he moved to North America and promised to use his new freedom of speech to represent the voices that are usually quashed before reaching the mainstream media - those of Atheist Muslims.

In Mythologies Without End, Jerome Slater argues that US policies in the region are largely a product of mythologies that are often flatly wrong. For example, the Israelis' treatment of Palestinians after 1948 undermined its claim that it was a true democracy, and the argument that Arab states refused to negotiate with Israel for decades is simply untrue. Because of widespread acceptance of these myths in both the US and Israel, the consequences have been devastating to all of the involved parties.

Historian Nigel Cliff delivers a sweeping, radical reinterpretation of Vasco da Gama's pioneering voyages, revealing their significance as a decisive turning point in the struggle between Christianity and Islam. Perfect for fans of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, Galileo's Daughter, and Atlantic, this first-ever complete account of da Gama's voyages includes new information from the recently discovered diaries of his sailors and an extraordinary series of letters between da Gama and the Zamorin, a king of modern-day Kerala, India.

What is it like to live in or visit Turkey? What makes Turkey’s culture unique? Explore the geography, traditions, and daily lives of Turkish people.

Omar knows his scholarship to Ghalib Academy Boarding School is a game changer, providing him - the son of a servant - with an opportunity to improve his station in life. He can't wait to experience all the school has to offer, especially science club and hopefully the soccer team; but when he arrives, his hopes are dashed. First-year scholarship students aren't allowed to join clubs or teams - and not only that, they have to earn their keep doing menial chores.

In the summer of 2001, 12-year-old Fadi's parents make the difficult decision to illegally leave Afghanistan and move the family to the United States. When their underground transport arrives at the rendezvous point, chaos ensues, and Fadi is left dragging his younger sister, Mariam, through the crush of people. But Mariam accidentally lets go of his hand and becomes lost in the crowd, just as Fadi is snatched up into the truck. With Taliban soldiers closing in, the truck speeds away, leaving Mariam behind.

In Degrade and Destroy, the bestselling author and Wall Street Journal national security correspondent Michael R. Gordon reveals the strategy debates, diplomatic gambits, and military operations that shaped the struggle against the Islamic State. With extraordinary access to top U.S. officials and military commanders and to the forces on the battlefield, Gordon offers a riveting narrative that ferrets out some of the war’s most guarded secrets.