The Greatest Books of All Time Set in Middle East

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

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
2562 Gospels Unknown 70 Multiple Greek
3000 The Rise of the West William H. McNeill 1963 American English
3186 Eothen Alexander William Kinglake 1844 British English
3206 The Prize Daniel Yergin 1991 American English
4744 The Christian Tradition Jaroslav Pelikan 1971 American English
5185 The World's Religions Huston Smith 1958 American English
5281 Declare Tim Powers 2000 American English
5803 Martyr! Kaveh Akbar 2024 American English
5861 The New Arabian Nights Robert Louis Stevenson 1882 Scottish English
6926 The Hundred Years’ War On Palestine Rashid Khalidi 2020 American English
7215 West Eastern Divan Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1819 German German
7790 Sandstorms Peter Theroux 1990 American English
8092 When God Was A Woman Merlin Stone 1976 American English
8417 One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This Omar El Akkad 2025 Unknown English
8520 The True True Story Of Raja The Gullible Rabih Alameddine 2025 American English
8749 The Creation Of Patriarchy Gerda Lerner 1986 American English
9252 Arabs And Israelis Abdel Monem Said Aly, Shai Feldman, Khalil Shikaki 2013 Multiple English
9741 June Rain Jabbour Douaihy 2006 Lebanese Arabic
10076 Habibi Craig Thompson 2011 American English
10450 A Peace To End All Peace David Fromkin 1989 American English
10610 King Of Kings Scott Anderson 2025 American English
10655 The Travels of Ibn Battutah Ibn Battúta 1355 Moroccan Arabic
11661 Thirteen Days In September Lawrence Wright 2014 American English
11661 The Vanished Imam Fouad Ajami 1986 Lebanese English
12072 The Afghans Asne Seierstad, Seán Kinsella 2022 Norwegian English
12083 Women Of Sand And Myrrh Hanan Al-Shaykh 1989 Lebanese Arabic
12082 Perfect Victims Mohammed El-Kurd 2025 Unknown English
12171 The Finest Hotel In Kabul Lyse Doucet 2025 Canadian English
12179 I'll Tell You When I'm Home Hala Alyan 2025 American English
12230 Vulture Phoebe Greenwood 2025 Unknown English
12493 The Eyes Of Gaza Plestia Alaqad 2025 Unknown English
12610 Too Soon Betty Shamieh 2025 American English
12721 Tomorrow Is Yesterday Hussein Agha, Robert Malley 2025 American English
12771 The Consequences Of Love Sulaiman Addonia 2008 British English
12821 Being Jewish After The Destruction Of Gaza Peter Beinart 2025 American English
13078 To Lose A War Jon Lee Anderson 2025 American English
13256 The Corpse Washer Sinan Antoon 2010 Iraqi Arabic
13599 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
14984 Alif The Unseen G. Willow Wilson 2012 American English
14984 Christianity Diarmaid MacCulloch 2010 British English
14984 The Battle For God Karen Armstrong 2000 British English
15899 The Wilder Shores Of Love Lesley Blanch 1954 British English
17120 Crusade and Jihad Bassam Tibi 2017 German English
17120 Destiny Disrupted Tamim Ansary 2009 American English
17120 A Line In The Sand James Barr 2011 British English
17120 A History Of Religious Ideas, Volume 2 Mircea Eliade 1982 Romanian French
17120 Prisoners Of Geography Tim Marshall 2015 British English
17120 The Poetry Of Arab Women Nathalie Handal 2001 Multiple English
17120 Politics On The Edge Rory Stewart 2023 British English
17120 Virtual War Michael Ignatieff 2000 Canadian English
17120 Cyclonopedia Reza Negarestani 2008 Unknown English
17120 Grand Delusion Steven Simon 2023 Unknown English
17120 Muhammad Karen Armstrong 1991 British English
17120 The Ornament Of The World María Rosa Menocal 2002 American English
17120 Journal Of An Ordinary Grief Mahmoud Darwish 1973 Palestinian Arabic
17120 Your Wish Is My Command Deena Mohamed 2022 Unknown English
17120 Like Hidden Fire: The Plot To Bring Down The British Empire hopkirk 1994 Unknown English
16926 Ibn Fadlān And The Land Of Darkness Ahmad ibn Fadlān 921 Unknown Arabic
17120 A Hand Full Of Stars Rafik Schami 1985 German German
17120 Syrian Brides Anna Halabi 2018 Unknown English