This is a great collection of essays, published in 1985 for the purpose of an undergraduate course on the social sciences in the Arab world. Topics covered include urbanization, the tribe, political ideologies, religion, households and the larger economy, reality negotiation, and the impact of modern statehood.

Given that it was published some forty years ago, the essays in the collection do not reflect the immense changes of the past decades, least of all since the Arab spring. At the time of publication, Arab nationalism was on its way out, and Islamism was just beginning to find traction.

Not all essays are of remarkable quality, but the bulk of the collection are really good and worth reading.