Tribes, Government, and History in Yemen

`a significant contribution to the study of tribes in the Middle East ... It is an original and fascinating attempt as well to unite history with cultural interpretation. A deeply engaged and engaging work, complexly and grandly conceived and wittily written, its scholarship is also miles above sea level.' Times Literary Supplement `For those who would like to know more about tribal life in North Yemen this book is full of interest. Dresch has been able to give a picture of a society destined to change, possibly out of recognition.' Times Higher Education Supplement `absorbing and original study ... This is an exceptional book not merely because it contains much information about an area and a people too little studied but because one is conscious throughout of being in the company of a well-furnished mind, a high intelligence, and a fluent pen together grappling with major problems of interpretation and always lifting the discussion to new and rewarding levels of discrimination.' Anthropos `an absorbing account of the major phases of Yemini history ... an accessible, authoritative, and important contribution to the field of Yemini studies.' Middle East Journal `[a] detailed and interesting account.' Charles Tripp, Third World Quarterly `This is very much a historian's review of a remarkably rich and fascinating study ... a very distinguished piece of research, lively and well-written, which will be interesting and important for anyone seriously interested in the Middle East, ancient or modern Hugh Kennedy, University of St Andrews `A wide-ranging study of the tribes of northern Yemen ... a rich and perceptive collection, ranging from issues in Yemeni historiography to studies of the role of tribes ... Dresch's is a demanding agenda, at once wide-ranging and flexible, and, guided by Evans-Pritchard's prudence, he has set about his task with enthusiasm and much skill. He is rich in detail, charitably corrective of earlier writings on the subject.' Middle Eastern Studies