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China’s Gilded Age

China’s Gilded Age

China’s Gilded Age (2020) by Yuen Yuen Ang is an accessible read that is well worth reading for multiple reasons. The book advances theoretical understandings on corruption and poverty, it presents creative methodologies that could inspire all sorts of new research, and presents unique findings that explain how China sustained high levels of economic growth […]

Tags: #China #Corruption #Development

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Ebola and the Ravages of History

Ebola and the Ravages of History

In Paul Farmer style, “Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History” (2020) weaves together personal encounters with life histories, colonial histories, and public health. This is well worth the read – all 653 pages of it. When I picked up this book, we got the unfortunate news of the passing of Dr […]

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Qatar: Political, Economic and Social Issues

Qatar: Political, Economic and Social Issues

Haitham M. Alkhateeb published “Qatar: Political, Economic and Social Issues” (I published a similar book with the same publisher, in the same year, on Ethiopia). Unfortunately this publisher charges an unacceptably high rate for books (both this book and the one I edited sell for US$230), which makes them largely inaccessible to most readers. I […]

Tags: #Blockade #Economic #Education #Political #Qatar

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The Creation of Qatar

The Creation of Qatar

The classic history of Qatar was written by Rosemarie Said Zahlan in 1979, titled The Creation of Qatar. The author is the sister of Edward Said (yes, the Edward Said), and she also wrote a history of the UAE (in 1978) and the region (in 1998). Zahlan’s book is a reference / source book for […]

Tags: #Creation of Qatar #History #Qatar #State of Qatar #Zahlan

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Qatar’s Modern and Contemporary Development

Qatar’s Modern and Contemporary Development

One of the benefits of being in Qatar, when reading books written on the country, is the ability to walk the shelves of the Qatar National Library and stumble upon gems that almost certainly would not be available outside of Qatar. One example of this is “Qatar’s Modern and Contemporary Development: Chapters of Political, Social […]

Tags: #Books #Development #Doha #History #Qatar

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The Emergence of Qatar

The Emergence of Qatar

Of all the potential topics covered in books about Qatar, history takes a prominent role. One of these books is Habibur Rahman’s “The Emergence of Qatar: The Turbulent Years 1627-1916”, which was first published in 2005. At the time of its first publication, this book was one of the few histories of Qatar (after Zahlan’s […]

Tags: #Emergence of Qatar #Habibur Rahman #History #Qatar

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