Turki al-Hamad's explosive novel Adama became an unlikely bestseller in the Middle East, selling more than 20,000 copies despite being officially banned in several countries, including the author's native Saudi Arabia. A compelling coming-of-age story, it also offers a rare and stunning inside look at the hidden roots of dissent in the modern Arab world. In his tranquil middle-class neighbourhood, eighteen-year-old Hisham doesn't quite fit in. He's a budding philosopher who spends his days...

Since 2001 America's War on Terror has achieved what Osama bin Laden could not: the unification of the jihad under al-Qa'ida's banner. Although today al-Qa'ida is seen as the epitome of jihad, when it first emerged other militant Islamists rejected its vision of a holy war against the West. What is the truth of its pre-eminent status and at what cost has it been achieved? Investigative journalist Camille Tawil charts the history of conflict and complicity between al-Qa'ida and its brothers...

Truth is quirkier than fiction in this romp through the history of one unforgettable town. Millions of tourists know Eureka Springs, Arkansas, as a charming Victorian village. Far fewer have heard these sixty too-crazy-to-make-up tales of colorful characters who have trodden its wildly uneven streets. Each story is narrated by a different Eureka Springs area resident, creating a magical listening experience!How did a skin rash lead to the tow...

Truth is quirkier than fiction in this romp through the history of one unforgettable town. Millions of tourists know Eureka Springs, Arkansas, as a charming Victorian village. Far fewer have heard these sixty too-crazy-to-make-up tales of colorful characters who have trodden its wildly uneven streets. Each story is narrated by a different Eureka Springs area resident, creating a magical listening experience!How did a skin rash lead to the tow...

Truth is quirkier than fiction in this romp through the history of one unforgettable town. Millions of tourists know Eureka Springs, Arkansas, as a charming Victorian village. Far fewer have heard these sixty too-crazy-to-make-up tales of colorful characters who have trodden its wildly uneven streets. Each story is narrated by a different Eureka Springs area resident, creating a magical listening experience!How did a skin rash lead to the tow...

Truth is quirkier than fiction in this romp through the history of one unforgettable town. Millions of tourists know Eureka Springs, Arkansas, as a charming Victorian village. Far fewer have heard these sixty too-crazy-to-make-up tales of colorful characters who have trodden its wildly uneven streets. Each story is narrated by a different Eureka Springs area resident, creating a magical listening experience!How did a skin rash lead to the tow...

Major-General Farhan Al-Balawi is a loyal soldier in the Saudi Arabian army who dotes on his beloved daughter, Maryam, his pride in her learning and independent spirit sharpened by the death of his elder son and his estrangement from the younger who has opted to pursue a hedonistic western lifestyle in the USA. Despite the love she shares with her family, her respect for her father, the pride she takes in her Arabian heritage and her loyalty to Islam, Maryam yearns for travel and the opportun...

As the western world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden has fought to keep his personal life a mystery – loyalty and fear keeping those who know him from speaking out – until now.For the first time, two of Osama’s closest family members, his first wife Najwa and their fourth son Omar, go behind the headlines to reveal the truth about the character and life of a man feared and revered around the globe.In gripping detail, they recount the drama, tensions, and everyday ac...

August Book Sense PickA fading aristocrat and self-proclaimed 'scientist of women.' A purring, voluptuous siren. A young shop-girl enduring the clammy touch of her boss and hating herself for accepting the modest banknotes he tucks into her pocket afterward. An earnest, devout young doorman, feeling the irresistible pull toward fundamentalism. A cynical, secretly gay newspaper editor, helplessly in love with a peasant security guard. A roof-squatting tailor, schemi...

The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif traces an Afghani refugee's extraordinary journey - from his early life as a shepherd boy in the mountains of Northern Afghanistan to his forcved exile after being captured and tortured by the Taliban to incarceration in an Australian detention centre ... and finally to freedom.

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE • In this “courageous” (The Washington Post) memoir of survival, a former captive of the Islamic State tells her harrowing and ultimately inspiring story.Nadia Murad was born and raised in Kocho, a small village of farmers and shepherds in northern Iraq. A member of the Yazidi community, she and her brothers and sisters lived a quiet life. Nadia had dreams of becoming a history teacher or opening her own beauty salon.

A SPECTATOR AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARA BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'Timely and beautifully written' Sunday Times'Phenomenal. An extraordinary insight into a country barely known - and often feared - by the West' VogueWelcome to Tehran, a city where survival depends on a network of subterfuge. Here is a place where mullahs visit prostitutes, drug kin...