• The best books on deserts that capture their beauty and loneliness
• The best books by Arabic writers on the displacement and destruction brought on by colonization & the discovery of oil
• The best books about facing death and danger
• The best books on the beauty and terror of being alive
• The best books for taking flight
• The best books to read to understand the Middle East
• The best non-business books that teach business strategy
• The best travel books from the golden age of globetrotting
• The best books by Western veterans of the Great War in the Middle East
• The best books about Egypt and the Sahara before and during WWII
• The best books about adventure, belief, and finding meaning from the meaningless
• The best books about little known people in history
• The best novels about people with guts
• The best books on how culture influences Middle Eastern history and politics
• The best books on courage, camaraderie, and survival in the face of danger
• The best rambunctious adventure tales with grifters, rogues, scalawags, and scoundrels
• The best books about the oil industry
• The best books that capture the essence of Syria and its people
• The best books for making sense of our existence in the Universe