The Bedouins and the Desert

"I need scarcely say how important this book's subject is for anyone who wishes to understand the society and culture of the Arab peoples. There have been a number of important studies in European languages about aspects of this subject, and some valuable reports by western travelers, but in my opinion Jibrail Jabbur's book goes beyond them. It is based on a unique variety of sources: the works of Arab historians as well as European scholars and travelers; Arabic poems (of which Professor Jabbur had a remarkable knowledge), and his own personal observations during a long life which began on the edge of the Syrian desert." — Albert Hourani, author of A History of the Arab Peoples

"This book is above all a mine of detailed information about many aspects of bedouin life and about the physical environment in which the bedouin live....The interplay of recent/ethnographic detail and information drawn from ancient Arabic poetry and other literary sources is remarkable....All in all, it is an invaluable compilation and synthesis of material on a rapidly vanishing way of life." — Fred Donner, The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago