Abdel Latif El-Menawy, the Controller of Egypt's television and radio, tells the inside 
story of exactly how January 2011's revolution played out. Besieged inside the State 
TV building for 18 days, El-Menawy was constantly in touch with the President and 
the ruling clique led by the President's son and heir apparent, Gamal, as well as 
ministers and officers at the highest levels of the Defence and Intelligence services.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-12-4
Price: £12.95
Publication: 25th January 2012

Abdel Latif El-Menawy at the Frontline Club on Tuesday 17th January 2012 - more here.

Rana Jawad, a British-Lebanese journalist who has reported from Tripoli for the BBC 
for seven years, found herself the last British journalist reporting from inside Tripoli 
early in 2010. Defiant and terrified in turns, she went into hiding and bravely issued 
the series of anonymous  Tripoli Witness blogs that have become famous among anyone 
following the course of the insurgency.
    The raw blog accounts published here are accompanied by short introductory pieces as 
well as a series of opening essays that give a very personal account of what it was like to live 
in Gaddafi's Libya.
    Paul Kenyon, the acclaimed Panorama presenter who recently received the Association of 
International Broadcasters award for Best Middle East Documentary for "Fighting Gaddafi", 
introduces Rana's work and gives an insight into this remarkable young journalist's brave 
reporting through harrowing times.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-13-1
Price: £9.95
Publication: 15th December 2011


Hear Rana Jawad on Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4 on December 15th)

Some twelve million Islamic pilgrims flock to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina
annually in a voyage that is bidden of them by the fifth of the five pillars of Islam. If it
can be funded, it is a religious duty to make the journey before they die.
     In recent years the Grand Mosque, and indeed the whole infrastructure that the
pilgrims will encounter on their journey, has been substantially renovated and rebuilt
to allow for the huge numbers who will come from all four corners of the earth.
     This photographic celebration of the Hajj pilgrimage will establish itself as the
essential keepsake - a treasured tool in presenting the sights the traveller will
encounter in the holy cities. Newsha Tavakolian's remarkable photography is
reproduced here with full captions that detail the events and rituals that form part of
the pilgrimage.

With a foreword by Rageh Omaar.


ISBN: 978-1-908531-08-7
Price: £27.50
Publication: 25th February 2012                                    
Newsha's photography features in the current British Museum exhibition: Journey to the Heart of Islam

As the focal point of the three major monotheistic religions, Jerusalem is home to a rich 
and diverse spread of different religious communities who have a complex history of alliances 
and rifts. Today's Christian communities are the survivors of the last two centuries of Islamic 
and Jewish governance, albeit often in the face of seemingly overwhelming challenges. This 
unique record charts that struggle. 
    Dr Abujaber's vivid and dramatic account is drawn on extensive personal experience of the 
Christian families of the Levant region.
    Arab Christianity in Jerusalem is unique in blending invaluable first person research
with exhaustive research in international archives, weaving the various strands into
one comprehensive yet readable account of the life in the Holy City. This landmark
book will be vital to all historians of the region as well as to religious scholars.


ISBN: 978-1-908531-16-2
Price: £24.95
Publication: 17th July 2012

The insightful and entertaining account of a lively British diplomatic career in the 
post-colonial period.
    Keep the Flag Flying is intended to convey something of the flavour – and the frivolities – 
of escapades and encounters which Sir Alan and his wife experienced in the course of 
thirty-five years in diplomacy in the Middle East, Africa and South America, and at home 
too. The narrative ranges from the 1991 Gulf War, the Iranian Revolution and the running 
sore of Palestine through a gallery of African despots and of royal moments to the furore over 
the arrival of Ronald Biggs in Brazil. All this is set against a half-century of post-imperial adjustment 
in Britain’s foreign policy, in which withdrawal from a global role is offset by an overriding concern, 
shared with western partners, to counter the extension – political and economic as well as military – 
of Soviet Marxist influence across a fractious world.
    The account brings out the human side, as well as the value, of a profession in which ‘life’s rich 
tapestry’ plays an uncommonly prominent part.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-15-5
Price: £17.95
Publication: 17th May 2012

On August 4th 2011 the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya, Raila Amolo Odinga,
 announced, through the local Kenyan media, that he had suspended Miguna Miguna 
indefinitely without pay as his senior adviser. When Mr. Odinga suddenly announced 
his "reinstatement" on 27th December 2011, Miguna turned it down.
    In his explosive new memoirs, Peeling Back the Mask, Miguna Miguna exposes Mr Odinga’s 
lacklustre leadership – questioning his progressive credentials and claim that he is an agent of 
change. The book presents a true insider’s account of the intrigues, discussions and power plays 
that have occurred in Kenya’s “corridors of power” in recent years. The book depicts a troubled
and cowardly leadership undeserving of the praise and attention of recent years. It is a must read 
for everyone interested in social justice and good governance in Africa.
    Peeling Back the Mask, also delves back to tell the remarkable tale of Miguna's early life, 
from humble origins, through privations and hardship, his university days and his many years 
as a practicing lawyer. A heartwarmingly personal African story.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-21-6
Price: £24.95
Publication: 30th June 2012

Few historians have written on the sack of Jerusalem in AD 614 - the monstrous
massacre that occurred as the holy city of Jerusalem suffered the conflicting
attentions of the Roman and Persian Empires in their death throes. The bloodbath at
Mamilla, where the largely Arab inhabitants of Jerusalem were bought as slaves and
slaughtered as cattle, is an event so horrific that many historians have sought to
consign it to a footnote in the greater narrative sweep of history.
     In this dramatic new presentation of these events, Yasmine Zahran brings the tragic
personal narratives to life, frequently through the medium of an envisaged first person
 account that empathises with key protagonists. For all its vividness, Lament for Jerusalem 
is a meticulously researched piece of scholarship, flowing easily from the pen of a historian 
who has written considerably on related areas of Middle Eastern history.
     The sack of Jerusalem is given further historical context in a preface by Robert Hoyland,
Professor at the Oriental Institute at the University of Oxford.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-02-5
Price: £19.95
Publication: 26th October 2011


Lament for Jerusalem was launched at Daunt Books, Marylebone High Street, on 26th October. 
Read more about the event here.

Born in the Roman province of Leptis Magna, in Africa, Septimius Severus was Roman
Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus seized power after the death of Emperor Pertinax
in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. Once he had reaffirmed his rule over the
western provinces, Severus waged a brief war in the east against the Parthian Empire,
sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris.
Late in his reign he traveled to Britain, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying
the Antonine Wall. In 208 he began the conquest of Caledonia (modern Scotland), but
his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill in late 210. With the succession of
his sons, Severus founded the Severan dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before
the Crisis of the Third Century.


ISBN: 978-1-908531-17-9
Price: £12.95
Publication: 17th July 2012

Philip the Arab was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and is
remembered for negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire shortly before Rome
came to celebrate its millennium.
    Among early Christian writers Philip had the reputation of being sympathetic to
the Christian faith and it has even been claimed by some historians that he converted
to Christianity, becoming the first Christian emperor.



ISBN: 978-1-908531-18-6
Price: £12.95
Publication: 17th July 2012

The Plant Encyclopaedia has been some twenty years in the making - the personal
passion of its author as he built his landscaping business headquartered in Dubai.
      Julian Lee's meticulous notes, based on extensive practical experience on the
ground, were gathered, catalogued and studiously verified. The massive job of providing
no fewer than eight images per plant was undertaken by a dedicated photographer,
sometimes travelling extensively to locate the correct plant and variants. The whole
was then painstakingly pieced together working closely with the editorial and design
team, creating a remarkable work of reference that will prove invaluable for
horticulturalists and amateur gardeners across the Middle East and beyond.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-03-2
Price: £95.00
Publication: 15th March 2012

Qatar, whose massive oil reserves go hand in hand with its massive ambitions to be an
internationally recognised hub of modern civilisation, is in the news a lot of late, and
will be increasingly so in future.
     News stories centre on such key events as the opening of the spectacular and world
class Museum of Islamic Art, or the winning bid for the FIFA World Cup. As the country
gears up to reach the ambitious targets it has set itself, the colossal infrastructure
requirements will demand unprecedented foreign expertise. The question, What is
Qatar? will be heard more and more often. This book answers that query in 190 pages
of new photography and well informed text.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-05-6
Price: £14.95
Publication: 24th February 2012

The visitor to Qatar could have no better companion that David Chaddock. Having been 
resident in Qatar long before the modern boom which brought such a huge influx of foreign 
business travellers and tourists and which has changed the skyline beyond recognition, he is 
well placed to guide the visitor round the capital's fast evolving architecture and highways, 
and to highlight the must see places to visit in modern Doha.
     But our guide's knowledge spreads far deeper than guidance geography and history;
David is a key figure, well connected in the local business community, and he has
helped a great many foreign companies find a footing in this sometimes bewildering
new environment. This essential travel guide – the only up to date such book on Qatar
– will be a lifeline for visiting business travellers and for new expatriates alike.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-06-3
 Price: £14.95
Publication: 15th June 2012

The Northern Region of Iraq is home to the nation's Kurdish population - a minority
which suffered horrendous oppression under Saddam Hussein's regime. Today it has
emerged from its troubled history to become the most prosperous part of the country
and indeed a beacon to the surrounding region. Its substantial oil reserves, coupled with
stable and practical political management, have resulted in a safe working environment.
Increasing numbers of business travellers and expatriates, augmented by a flow of
adventure travellers who come to experience the dramatic mountain landscapes, will
provide a strong market for this, the only, travel guide to Kurdistan.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-018
Price: £14.95
Publication: 15th June 2012

Laing and Alston, both former British Ambassadors to Oman, have researched their 
subject closely, assembling an authoritative history which runs from the earliest
contacts in the mid-17th century through to the end of the Dhofar wars in 1975.
Their research sheds new and clearly documented evidence on how events unfolded
over the past fifty years.
      This landmark book will be vital to all historians of the region and to analysts of 
the current geopolitical situation in the Persian Gulf.

ISBN: 978-1-908531-07-0
Price: £25.00
Publication: 25th September 2012

Sasakawa was deeply affected by the plight of social discrimination faced by leprosy
sufferers when he first visited a leprosy community in South Korea with his father in
1965. It was to change the course of his life, deciding him to set the fight against
leprosy as his personal mission above all else.
      But his philanthropic work is not constrained to leprosy alone. Sasakawa has been
central in a great many other projects: the development of Arctic Sea lanes that are usable 
year-round, medical examinations for 200,000 children victimized by the Chernobyl nuclear
power plant accident, and the development of the next generation of leaders through a global 
scholarship network of 69 universities

ISBN: 978-1-908531-04-9
Price: £24.95
Publication: 20th February 2012

Turtles need to swim free, roaming far and wide, high and low, if they are to survive. This is the
tale of one who could not. Suffering from "floating syndrome" ever since she mistook a
plastic carrier bag for a tasty jellyfish, Tina ("Turtle In Need of Assistance") is doomed to
bob around the surface waters of the Arabian Sea. Until rescuers come her way...

ISBN: 978-1-908531-00-1
Price: £12.95
Publication: 20th October 2011