Middle East Studies Research Guide

Bibliography of Reference Materials

Encylopedias and Dictionaries | Atlases | Handbooks | Travel Books | Bibliographies | World Bibliographic Series | Periodical Indexes | Religion


Library of Congress subject headings to use when searching the BYU Library Catalog:

Arabs Israel-Arabs Conflicts
Jews Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949
Islam Israel-Arab War, 1967
Judaism Israel-Arab War, 1973
Middle East Jewish-Arab Relations
Arab Countries Persian Gulf War, 1991
Israel

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries


Atlas of Modern Jewish History. Friesel, Evyatar. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Soc Sci Ref G 1030 .F6513 1990

The Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam. New York: Harper & Row, 1989. 1 vol. Hum Ref BP 40 .G42 1989
Short entries plus a chronology, charts, and maps.

A Dictionary of the Middle East. Hiro, Dilip. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996. Soc Sci Ref DS 43 .H57 1996

The Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Keter Press, 1982. Soc Sci Ref DS 102.8 .E495
Extensive coverage of all aspects of Judaism with a short bibliography for each article. Volume 1 contains the index and general information. (This encyclopedia is also on the library website.)

The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Lieden: E. J. Brill, 1960-. Soc Sci Ref DS 37.E523
Scholarly essays on all aspects of Islam. Still being published.

The Encyclopedia of Jewish History. New York: Facts on File, 1986. Soc Sci Ref DS 114 .E53
A single volume that offers concise information about events, eras and key figures in the annals of the Jewish people. Historical charts are included in the appendix.

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust. Spector, Shmuel. New York: NYU Press; Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 2001. 3 vols. Soc Sci Ref DS 135 .E8 E45 2001

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East. New York: Macmillan Reference, 1996. 4 vols. Soc Sci Ref DS 43 .E53 1996
Covers cultural, historical, economic and social topics, including people, for
the 24 countries of the Middle East.

Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. Mattar, Philip. New York: Facts on File, c2000. Soc Sci Ref DS 113.6 .E53 2000

Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War. Grossman, Mark. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, c1995. Soc Sci Ref DS 79.72 .G75x 1995

Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War. Schwartz, Richard Alan. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., Inc., 1998. Soc Sci Ref DS 79.72 .S39 1998
Entries on various aspects of the war plus a chronology and bibliogaphy.

First Encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1987. Soc Sci Ref DS 35.53 .E53
This work covers the whole range of Islamic culture in scholarly articles.

Historical Dictionary of Arab and Islamic Organizations. Clements, Frank. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2001. Soc Sci Ref DS 36.55 .C57

Historical Dictionary of Judaism. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998. Hum Ref BM 50 .S65 1998
Broad coverage of Judaica plus chronology, mitzvot, prayer texts, reform platform and bibliography.

Historical Dictionary of the Gulf Arab States. London: Scarecrow Press, 1997. Soc Sci Ref DS 247 .A15 P43 1997
Covers the five small gulf states, including the UAE federation, which border the Persian Gulf. Includes a list of abbreviations and a substantial bibliography.

Historical Dictionary of the Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991. Newell, Clayton R. Lorham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1998. Soc Sci Ref DS 79.72 .N48 1998
Includes a chronology, maps, bibliography, UN resolutions, along with short entries on people, actions and other aspects of the war.

An Historical Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. London: Aldwych Press, 1996. Soc Sci Ref DS 119.7 .H544 1996
Contains an historical encyclopedia, chronology, and bibliographical notes.

The Middle East: a Political Dictionary. Ziring, Lawrence. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c1992. Soc Sci Ref DS 61 .Z58

New Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel. London: Associated University Presses, 1994. Soc Sci Ref DS 149 .N56
A two volume, revised edition covering primarily the history of Palestine in the last hundred years.

Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Hum Ref BM 50 .O94 1997
Essential teachings of Judaism: includes terms in English with the Hebrew text next to it.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. Meyers, Eric M. NY: Oxford University Press, 1997, 5 vols. Soc Sci Ref DS 56 .O9

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 4 vols. Soc Sci Ref DS 35.53 .O95 1995
Global coverage of all facets of Muslim social and religious life.

Political Dictionary of Israel. Reich, Bernard. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2000. Soc Sci Ref DS 126.5 .R385

Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. New York: Continuum Publishing Company, 1999. Soc Sci Ref DS 62.8 .P64

A Popular Dictionary of Islam. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, 1992. Hum Ref BP 40 .N48
A concise dictionary covering religion, ritual, theology, law, history, art and architecture.

Atlases


Atlas of the Islamic World Since 1500. New York: Facts on File, 1982. Soc Sci Ref DS 35.6 .R6
This volume contains maps, pictures and essays on history and religious life in all Islamic countries.

Atlas of the Jewish World. New York: Facts on File, 1984. Soc Sci Ref DS 117 .D4
Part I: Historical, Part II: General Essays, Part III: Jewish Communities Today

Atlas of the Middle East. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1988. Soc Sci Ref G 2205 .K33

Cambridge Atlas of the Middle East and North Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Map Coll. G 2205 .C36
Includes maps, explanatory comments, and tables on the physical environment, culture, demography, economics, communications and other special topics of the Middle East.

The Cultural Atlas of Islam. New York: Macmillan, 1986. Soc Sci Ref DS 36.85 .A39
Contains maps and essays on islamic culture and civilization. It also includes tables, charts, chronologies, figures and photographs.

A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People. New York: Knopf, 1992. Soc Sci Ref DS 117 .J8513
Text, maps, illustrations and chronological tables on the history of the Jewish people from the time of the patriarchs to the present time.

Handbooks


The Arab-Israel Dispute. New York: Facts on File, 1996. Soc Sci Ref DS 119.7 .P4497 1996
Contains an historical overview, chronology, glossary, and a large annotated bibliography of books for continuing research.

Documentary History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. New York: Praeger, 1991. Soc Sci Ref DS 119.7 .D616
Reproduced primary documents with introductions and epilogues.

Israel and the Jewish World, 1948-1993: A Chronology. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1995. Soc Sci Ref DS 126.5 .E285
Includes an introduction, glossary, and bibliography.

The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary. New York: Harper & Row, 1985. Soc Sci Ref BM 690 .S76
A history and interpretation of the major Jewish holidays.

Longman Companion to the Middle East since 1914. London: Longman 1998, 2nd ed. Soc Sci Ref DS 62.4 .O94 1998
Consists of chronologies, biographies, lists of rulers, glossary, treaties/resolutions, and maps.

The Middle East and North Africa. Europa Publications Ltd. (annual) Soc Sci Ref DS 49 .M5
Includes essays on general aspects of the Middle East, regional organizations, and country surveys. Contains statistical charts, maps and bibliographies.

The Middle East and South Asia. The World Today Series, Washington: Stryker-Post Publications. (annual) Soc Sci Ref DS 44 .C55
Contains essays on historical background and current information on each country. Includes maps and illustrations.

Middle East Studies Handbook. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1984. Soc Sci Ref DS 61 .B3
Includes transliteration systems, Islamic calendar, dynasties and rulers, chronology of events, an historical atlas and gazetteer.

The Muslim Almanac. NY: Gale, 1996. Hum Ref BP 40 .M83 1996
Lengthy entries on the history, faith, culture and peoples of Islam. Includes a glossary, bibliographies, and detailed index.

Muslim Peoples: A World Ethnographic Survey. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1984. Soc Sci Ref DS 35.625 .A1 M87
A two volume work describing 190 Muslim ethnic and linguistic groups throughout the the world.

Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1995. Soc Sci Ref DS 79.72 .S862 1995
Contains an in depth day-to-day chronology, a glossary, personnel and military strength statistics.

Peoples of the World: The Middle East and North Africa. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Soc Sci Ref DS 44 .P46x
Contains the culture, geographical setting and historical background of 30 peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. Includes ancient and modern cultures.

Persian Gulf War Almanac. Summers, Harry G. New York: Facts on File, c1995. Soc Sci Ref DS 119.7 .P4497 1995
Contains a chronology, dictionary of terms and people, and background information.

The Timetables of Jewish History: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in Jewish History. Gribitz, Judah. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993. Soc Sci Ref DS 114 .G68
Country Study Series: A book for each country containing the profile and description of the country. It is organized by topics such as history, government, society, politics, economy and national security, and includes tables, bibliographies and glossaries.

Travel Books (Look for these in each country call number.)


Bibliographies


Antisemitism: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland, 1987. 3 Vols. Soc Sci Ref DS 145 .X1 A68
Works about antisemitism including books, dissertations, theses, periodical articles and collections listed in chronological order.

The Jewish World in Modern Times: A Selected Annotated Bibliography. Boulder: Westview Press, 1988. Soc Sci Ref DS 117 .X1 E33
Part I: Jewish world as a whole, Part II: Individual Jewish communities organized geographically

Kurdish Culture and Society: an Annotated Bibliography. Meho, Lokman, I. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001. Soc Sci Ref DS 59 .K86 X5

The Kurds and Kurdistan. Westpoint: Greenwood Press, 1997.Soc Sci Ref DS 44 .X1 M43
A selective and annotated bibliography covering: general works, description and travel, history, archaeology, politics, minorities, religion, society, economy, language, education, literature, folklore, culture and arts.

The Middle East and Islam: A Bibliographical Introduction. Zug, Switzerland: Interdocumentation Co., 1979. Supplement, 1977-1983. Soc Sci Ref DS 44 .X1 M53
List of basic books on a wide range of subjects (includes foreign language books). The books are arranged in five major divisions: reference, history and Islamic subject bibliographies, regional bibliographies and language and literature.

Middle East Bibliography. New Jersey, Scarecrow Press, 1992. Soc Sci Ref DS 44 .X1 S54 1992
Alphabetical by person, institution, place and subjects, with an author index.

The Middle East in Conflict: A Historical Bibliography. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 1985. Soc Sci Ref DS 62.4 .M53
A bibliography that summarizes journal literature on 20th century developments in the Middle East. Covers about 2,000 journal articles in various languages.

Middle East Leaders: a Bibliography with Indexes. Zinaki, G.O. Huntington, NY: Nova Science Publishers, c2001. DS 61.5 .X1 Z56 2001

The 1990-1991 Gulf War Crisis, Conflict, Aftermath. London: Mansell, 1995. Soc Sci Ref DS 79.72 .X1 O74 1995
An annotated bibliography covering a wide range of topics for the pre-war crisis, the war, and the aftermath.

World Bibliographic Series


The book for each country contains a list of references on the following topics; background information, geography, flora and fauna, history, archaeology, military, language, religion, population, social conditions, law, foreign relations, politics, agriculture, science, education, literature, and the arts. The bibliographies include recent materials in English.

Periodical Indexes


Articles on the Middle East, 1947-1971. 4 volumes. Soc Sci Ref DS 56 .X1 R67
Selective listing of periodical materials dealing with the Middle East since the rise of Islam.

Historical Abstracts. 1955-. Soc Sci Ref D 5 .X1 H48
The major index to journals about the world from 1450 to the present. Covers a wide range of topics. (This index can also be accessed electronically.)

Index Islamicus. 1906-. Soc Sci Ref D 199.3 .X1 U52
Includes books and journal articles on Muslims and all aspects of Islamic life.

Index to Jewish Periodicals. 1967-. Soc Sci Ref DS 102 .X1 I5
Author and subject index to selected English language journals of general and scholarly interest.

Middle East: Abstracts and Index. 1978-. Soc Sci Ref DS 41 .M44
Arranged geographically, it covers all fields related to Middle East except pure science and medicine.

Religion


The Babylonian Talmud. London: Soncino Press, 1948. Hum Ref BM 500 .E57x
A 17 volume set based on the text of the Vilna Romm edition. It contains orders and their tractates.

A Concordance of the Holy Qur'an. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. Hum Ref BP 133 .K377

The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary. Hum Ref BP 109 1989

The Legends of the Jews. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1937. Hum Ref BM 530 .G5
Jewish legends that refer to Biblical personages/events.

Who’s Who in the Talmud. New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1995. Hum Ref BM 501.15 .F75 1995
Gives bibliography on people, families, etc., mentioned in the Talmud. There
is a guide in the front on how to use the book.