An Oxford-educated scholar of the Middle East and former foreign correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal", Hugh Pope lived and worked in two dozen countries throughout the region. Following in the footsteps of Sir Richard Burton and Lawrence of Arabia, Hugh Pope's explorations of the people, politics, religion, and culture of Islamic nations shows there is no such thing as a monolithic 'Muslim World'. His probing and often perilous journeys - at one point he is forced to quote Koranic verse to argue against his being murdered by a top al-Qaeda leader - provide an eye-opening look at diverse societies often misportrayed by superficial reporting and 'why they hate us' politics. With U.S. foreign policy under Obama aiming to more constructively engage with Muslim nations, this lyrical and often poetic voyage is one of the truly important books of our times.

Author Biography

HUGH POPE is currently based in Istanbul with the International Crisis Group. Previously he was a staff correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal "and has been engaged in the broader Middle East for three decades. He has lectured widely on the Turkic world, including at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Pope is the author of "Sons of the Conquerors," one of "The Economist"'s Best Books of the Year, and "Turkey Unveiled," a "New York Times "Notable Book.