The Bedouins and the desert : aspects of nomadic life in the Arab East / Jibrail S. Jabbur ; translated from the Arabic by Lawrence I. Conrad ; edited by Suhayl J. Jabbur and Lawrence I. Conrad.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [643]-653) and index.

I. The Desert Homeland -- II. Trees and Plants of the Desert -- III. Carnivorous Desert Animals -- IV. Herbivorous Desert Animals -- V. Desert Birds -- VI. Desert Reptiles and Insects -- VII. Domesticated Animals in the Desert -- VIII. The Camel -- IX. The Bedouin's Tent -- X. The Arab Bedouin and His Tribes -- XI. The Tribal Order -- XII. The Bedouin Character -- XIII. Bedouin Appearance, Dress, and Adornment -- XIV. Raiding and the Brother-Right -- XV. The Bedouins and the Hunt -- XVI. The Bedouins and Religion -- XVII. Education and Cultural Life -- XVIII. Nomads of the Nomads: the Slayb -- XIX. The History of the Bedouins in Northern Arabia -- XX. The Transformation of Bedouin Life -- Appendix I. Egyptian Archival Documents -- Appendix II. British Foreign Office Documents -- Appendix III. Plants and Shrubs in Arab Desert Lands.

The author approaches his subject from the perspective of a historian of Arab history and Arabic literature. Originally published in Arabic in 1988, the book is based on a lifetime of experiences with the Syrian tribes of the Arab east and decades of research in Arabic literary sources, travelers' and explorers' accounts, modern studies, and archival resources.

Many sources are here utilized for the first time, and of particular note are Jabbur's extensive use of ancient Arabic poetry to convey the spirit of his subject and his many observations on parallels with Old Testament accounts.

The Bedouins and the Desert has been superbly translated from the Arabic by Lawrence I. Conrad, a historian of the early-Islamic period and translator of several other classics in Arabic scholarly literature. It includes a number of corrections and revisions made by the author after the publication of the Arabic text, and is profusely illustrated with photographs taken mostly by the author and the famous Beirut photographer Manoug Alemian during visits to the Syrian desert.