The Greatest Books of All Time Set in Middle East

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
46 One Thousand and One Nights Unknown 800 Multiple Arabic
1529 Orientalism Edward W. Said 1978 Palestinian English
2563 Gospels Unknown 70 Multiple Greek
3000 The Rise of the West William H. McNeill 1963 American English
3185 Eothen Alexander William Kinglake 1844 British English
3205 The Prize Daniel Yergin 1991 American English
4745 The Christian Tradition Jaroslav Pelikan 1971 American English
5187 The World's Religions Huston Smith 1958 American English
5282 Declare Tim Powers 2000 American English
5805 Martyr! Kaveh Akbar 2024 American English
5863 The New Arabian Nights Robert Louis Stevenson 1882 Scottish English
6926 The Hundred Years’ War On Palestine Rashid Khalidi 2020 American English
7216 West Eastern Divan Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1819 German German
7791 Sandstorms Peter Theroux 1990 American English
8093 When God Was A Woman Merlin Stone 1976 American English
8419 One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This Omar El Akkad 2025 Unknown English
8522 The True True Story Of Raja The Gullible Rabih Alameddine 2025 American English
8753 The Creation Of Patriarchy Gerda Lerner 1986 American English
9254 Arabs And Israelis Abdel Monem Said Aly, Shai Feldman, Khalil Shikaki 2013 Multiple English
9745 June Rain Jabbour Douaihy 2006 Lebanese Arabic
10081 Habibi Craig Thompson 2011 American English
10454 A Peace To End All Peace David Fromkin 1989 American English
10613 King Of Kings Scott Anderson 2025 American English
10659 The Travels of Ibn Battutah Ibn Battúta 1355 Moroccan Arabic
11663 Thirteen Days In September Lawrence Wright 2014 American English
11663 The Vanished Imam Fouad Ajami 1986 Lebanese English
12073 The Afghans Asne Seierstad, Seán Kinsella 2022 Norwegian English
12084 Women Of Sand And Myrrh Hanan Al-Shaykh 1989 Lebanese Arabic
12083 Perfect Victims Mohammed El-Kurd 2025 Unknown English
12172 The Finest Hotel In Kabul Lyse Doucet 2025 Canadian English
12180 I'll Tell You When I'm Home Hala Alyan 2025 American English
12231 Vulture Phoebe Greenwood 2025 Unknown English
12495 The Eyes Of Gaza Plestia Alaqad 2025 Unknown English
12612 Too Soon Betty Shamieh 2025 American English
12723 Tomorrow Is Yesterday Hussein Agha, Robert Malley 2025 American English
12773 The Consequences Of Love Sulaiman Addonia 2008 British English
12823 Being Jewish After The Destruction Of Gaza Peter Beinart 2025 American English
13081 To Lose A War Jon Lee Anderson 2025 American English
13259 The Corpse Washer Sinan Antoon 2010 Iraqi Arabic
13600 The Rock Of Tanios Amin Maalouf 1993 French French
13971 What We Owe Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde 2017 Swedish English
14132 A History of the Crusades Stephen Runciman 1951 British English
14170 The Valleys of the Assassins Freya Stark 1934 British English
14985 Alif The Unseen G. Willow Wilson 2012 American English
14985 Christianity Diarmaid MacCulloch 2010 British English
14985 The Battle For God Karen Armstrong 2000 British English
15916 The Wilder Shores Of Love Lesley Blanch 1954 British English
17164 Crusade and Jihad Bassam Tibi 2017 German English
17164 Destiny Disrupted Tamim Ansary 2009 American English
17164 A Line In The Sand James Barr 2011 British English
17164 A History Of Religious Ideas, Volume 2 Mircea Eliade 1982 Romanian French
17164 Prisoners Of Geography Tim Marshall 2015 British English
17164 The Poetry Of Arab Women Nathalie Handal 2001 Multiple English
17164 Politics On The Edge Rory Stewart 2023 British English
17164 Virtual War Michael Ignatieff 2000 Canadian English
17164 Cyclonopedia Reza Negarestani 2008 Unknown English
17164 Grand Delusion Steven Simon 2023 Unknown English
17164 Muhammad Karen Armstrong 1991 British English
17164 The Ornament Of The World María Rosa Menocal 2002 American English
17164 Journal Of An Ordinary Grief Mahmoud Darwish 1973 Palestinian Arabic
17164 Your Wish Is My Command Deena Mohamed 2022 Unknown English
17164 Like Hidden Fire: The Plot To Bring Down The British Empire hopkirk 1994 Unknown English
16970 Ibn Fadlān And The Land Of Darkness Ahmad ibn Fadlān 921 Unknown Arabic
17164 A Hand Full Of Stars Rafik Schami 1985 German German
17164 Syrian Brides Anna Halabi 2018 Unknown English