This study treats the crucial issues facing this complex region at the beginning of the 21st century. Designed as a core text for "Introduction to the Middle East" and "Middle East Politics" courses, it can also be used effectively as a supplemental reader in a wide variety of discipline-oriented curriculums. The geographical domain of the volume is the Arab world (including North Africa), Iran, Israel and Turkey. The authors provide up-to-date, thorough analyses not only of history, politics and economics, but also geography, international relations, the roles of religion, class and ethnicity, the status of women, changing demographics and literature. Each topic is covered with reference to the latest available scholarship. All of the chapters in this new edition have been revised and updated and there is an additional chapter on the political economy of oil. Maps, photographs and a table of basic political data enhance the text.