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Yemen: What Everyone Needs to Know®
A comprehensive introduction to Yemen's current crises, major players, and potential solutions to an ongoing civil war.
In 2014, a tribal alliance from Yemen's northern regions seized the capital city of Sana'a and overthrew a republic that had ruled since 1962. Known as the Houthi Movement, these rebels are today vying for control, sparring with southern separatist movements and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's political party. Indeed, Yemen—located in the southwest corner of the Arabian peninsula—has become synonymous with civil unrest, sectarian conflict, famine, and rampant disease in recent years. Yet the country has a much deeper history—one that stretches back centuries.
In What Everyone Needs to Know®, Asher Orkaby provides a broad-ranging, historically overview of the country and its peoples that focuses in particular on the contemporary situation. He covers the countries major political figures and ethnic groups, explaining the origins of each and their impact on contemporary national politics. Throughout, he focuses on tribalism, religious dynamics, regional identities, Yemen's African and Jewish minorities, and the social impact of the Arab Spring on the country's women and youth.
Orkaby also offers readers a window into Yemen's rich its archaeological treasures, its ancient economic prosperity, and its tribal and religious history. He also looks to Yemen's future, identifying potential avenues through which Yemen can use its promising geographic location, natural resources, and economic potential to achieve stability.
In 2014, a tribal alliance from Yemen's northern regions seized the capital city of Sana'a and overthrew a republic that had ruled since 1962. Known as the Houthi Movement, these rebels are today vying for control, sparring with southern separatist movements and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's political party. Indeed, Yemen—located in the southwest corner of the Arabian peninsula—has become synonymous with civil unrest, sectarian conflict, famine, and rampant disease in recent years. Yet the country has a much deeper history—one that stretches back centuries.
In What Everyone Needs to Know®, Asher Orkaby provides a broad-ranging, historically overview of the country and its peoples that focuses in particular on the contemporary situation. He covers the countries major political figures and ethnic groups, explaining the origins of each and their impact on contemporary national politics. Throughout, he focuses on tribalism, religious dynamics, regional identities, Yemen's African and Jewish minorities, and the social impact of the Arab Spring on the country's women and youth.
Orkaby also offers readers a window into Yemen's rich its archaeological treasures, its ancient economic prosperity, and its tribal and religious history. He also looks to Yemen's future, identifying potential avenues through which Yemen can use its promising geographic location, natural resources, and economic potential to achieve stability.
211 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 15, 2020
11 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 27, 2020
I felt like I didn't know anything about Yemen, and this was the remedy. It comes out in January and the contents cover up through 2019, very helpful in understanding the current situation in that country and where it comes from.
August 10, 2022
I read this book for the FROM AND ABOUT ASIA READING PROJECT.
For the month of Yemen, July 2022.
This is a nonfiction book about Yemen, covering Yemen from the ancient time of Noah to its current affairs, including the ongoing Yemeni Civil War that started in 2014. This book was published in 2021, so it's fairly up to date.
The book is very informative, it covers a variety of topics in Yemeni history chronologically, including religions, history in different historical eras, modern Yemen and its social structure, noticeably agriculture and economy, education and society, minorities, and women's rights.
Depending on the topic and the knowledge base of the reader (in this case, me), some chapters can be dry and packed with information. Personally, I had a hard time following the different streams of powers in the history in the first chapter, Regions, Sects, and Tribes. However, I enjoyed the chapters that talk about societal issues the most, for example, minorities and women's rights, and education and economy.
Read full detailed review of Yemen, What Everyone Needs to Know on The Bookish Land
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For the month of Yemen, July 2022.
This is a nonfiction book about Yemen, covering Yemen from the ancient time of Noah to its current affairs, including the ongoing Yemeni Civil War that started in 2014. This book was published in 2021, so it's fairly up to date.
The book is very informative, it covers a variety of topics in Yemeni history chronologically, including religions, history in different historical eras, modern Yemen and its social structure, noticeably agriculture and economy, education and society, minorities, and women's rights.
Depending on the topic and the knowledge base of the reader (in this case, me), some chapters can be dry and packed with information. Personally, I had a hard time following the different streams of powers in the history in the first chapter, Regions, Sects, and Tribes. However, I enjoyed the chapters that talk about societal issues the most, for example, minorities and women's rights, and education and economy.
Read full detailed review of Yemen, What Everyone Needs to Know on The Bookish Land
More of my reading life: BookTube // Instagram // Twitter
October 6, 2021
I thought this book was informative and concise. It tells the story of Yemen post-2014 and sheds some light on its current form as of now. It's not too boring and it kept my interest as well. I recommend this book for a factual account of Yemen's troubled history.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews