Crystal Eitle
03-28-2003, 09:21 PM
This may not sound like earth-shattering news, since Blackmask Online puts up new eBooks practically every day. But I thought it was worth mentioning today, since there are a bunch of new eBooks up at the site that seem rather timely given the current world situation.
If you go to the new books (http://www.blackmask.com/page.php?do=page&action=new) section and click on the links for the past few days (including today) you will see a number of "country studies" on different countries in the Middle East (including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Syria, Afghanistan, etc.) I haven't had a chance to read through any of them yet, but from the excerpts they look to be economic and historical profiles of each country.
(The following is the Foreword from the volume on Iraq)
Foreword
This volume is one in a continuing series of books prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army...
Most books in the series deal with a particular foreign country, describing and analyzing its political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, and examining the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors. The authors seek to provide a basic understanding of the observed society, striving for a dynamic rather than a static portrayal. Particular attention is devoted to the people who make up the society, their origins, dominant beliefs and values, their common interests and the issues on which they are divided, the nature and extent of their involvement with national institutions, and their attitudes toward each other and toward their social system and political order.
The books represent the analysis of the authors and should not be construed as an expression of an official United States government position, policy, or decision. The authors have sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity. Corrections, additions, and suggestions for changes from readers will be welcomed for use in future editions.
Louis R. Mortimer Chief Federal Research Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 20540-5220
Please don't take this post as an invitation to discuss politics! I'm a pretty political person, but I really enjoy that PPCT is a politics-free zone. I'm just hoping to read some of these books to gain a greater understanding of a part of the world I don't know enough about, and thought others might be interested, too.
If you go to the new books (http://www.blackmask.com/page.php?do=page&action=new) section and click on the links for the past few days (including today) you will see a number of "country studies" on different countries in the Middle East (including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Syria, Afghanistan, etc.) I haven't had a chance to read through any of them yet, but from the excerpts they look to be economic and historical profiles of each country.
(The following is the Foreword from the volume on Iraq)
Foreword
This volume is one in a continuing series of books prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army...
Most books in the series deal with a particular foreign country, describing and analyzing its political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, and examining the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors. The authors seek to provide a basic understanding of the observed society, striving for a dynamic rather than a static portrayal. Particular attention is devoted to the people who make up the society, their origins, dominant beliefs and values, their common interests and the issues on which they are divided, the nature and extent of their involvement with national institutions, and their attitudes toward each other and toward their social system and political order.
The books represent the analysis of the authors and should not be construed as an expression of an official United States government position, policy, or decision. The authors have sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity. Corrections, additions, and suggestions for changes from readers will be welcomed for use in future editions.
Louis R. Mortimer Chief Federal Research Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 20540-5220
Please don't take this post as an invitation to discuss politics! I'm a pretty political person, but I really enjoy that PPCT is a politics-free zone. I'm just hoping to read some of these books to gain a greater understanding of a part of the world I don't know enough about, and thought others might be interested, too.