Arabia: In Search of the Golden Ages

This lush coffee table book is part photo-essay, part outsized public relations effort, a slant perhaps guaranteed by the involvement of the Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal, who wrote the afterword. Still, valuable cultural insights abound, as the author explores the history of the land's Bedouin heritage, eventual entrance into the modern age, and cutting-edge architecture, examining the beauty and mysticism of ancient traditions and structures. While a chapter on women and society trumpets the progress of women's rights in the region, Morgan concedes that "the nation's morality police—the mutaween—still looks for sinners in short skirts." Still, the author makes a strong case for appreciating the contributions made by the Middle East to world culture, even if many of these advances were achieved before the modern age, and heaps praise on the region's discoveries in medicine, mathematics, and human anatomy. The gorgeous photography of mosques, terrain, people, and desert shadow lands is worth the price of admission alone. Photos. (Aug.)