Biographical Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East And North Africa

Edited by Fischbach, this two-volume work collects biographical profiles of some 300 prominent individuals of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, from Mauritania in the west to Afghanistan in the east. It includes coverage of the key political and clerical figures one would expect to see given the area's recent history, but also includes entries on writers, actors, sports figures, doctors, human rights advocates, business figures, architects, academics, and others. A remarkably successful effort has been made to remain as non-polemical and non-partisan as possible (the entry on Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a major opponent of the US occupation, to cite just one example, reads extremely differently than the typical profile found in the American press and is far more informative), although scholarly assessment of the individuals' legacies is not neglected. Each entry includes a brief summary of the individual's key attributes, a narrative personal history, discussion of influences and contributions, information on global perspectives on the figure, and a summary assessment of the person's legacy. Entries are cross-referenced, allowing readers to use the encyclopedia in a topical manner. Inset boxes are provided with the entries highlighting key biographical information and discussing significant peers and contemporaries. Also included is a chronology of events in the region since the end of the Second World War, a subject index, and a nationality and ethnicity index. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)