Banished Sheikh Malid Adjalane has no interest in returning to the family business under the watchful eye of his controlling father. But if Malid doesn’t agree to take on a tough deal, he won’t be allowed into the palace to see his dying mother. With no other choice, Malid finds himself deep in negotiations with the largest oil producer in the world. He expected hard work, but he never could have prepared himself for the gorgeous, ambitious woman on the other end of this business deal. Nigella Michaels works hard for her father’s oil company, but she still has a lot to prove. It’s a masculine industry, and with her dad about to retire, this deal could be just what she needs to show him once and for all that she’s the right person to continue his legacy. She’s always worked well with others, and this should be no exception. But not even her meticulous research could have prepared Nigella for the instant attraction she has with Malid. After so many years on his own, it won’t be easy for Malid to put up with his father’s terms. But with Nigella’s help, perhaps they’ll both learn to balance the weight of their family with their own desires.

Work always comes first for Sheikh Nassir Adjalane. From an early age, he learned business was infinitely more important than having a personal life. But with the pressure from an opponent on his board, Nassir suddenly has only one month to marry, or risk being voted out of his company. With everything he's working on the line, Nassir desperately needs a bride ... and only one woman will do it. Wedding planner Janna Davis never imagined she would be summoned to Middle East to plan Sheikh Nassir's nuptials. But the outrageous sum he's offered will finally give her what she needs to stand on her own two feet. As planning gets underway, Janna is put off by Nassir's businesslike way, but she can not deny his appeal. No matter what she's feeling though, Janna has a job to do. Janna values her independence and refuses to fall for a soon-to-be married man, but what will happen when she learns that she is Nassir's intended bride?

Book One: The Sheikh's Secret Bride Work always comes first for Sheikh Nassir Adjalane. From an early age, he learned business was infinitely more important than having a personal life. But with pressure from an opponent on his board, Nassir suddenly has only one month to marry, or risk being voted out of his company. With everything he's worked toward on the line, Nassir desperately needs a bride…and only one woman will do. Wedding planner Janna Davis never imagined she'd be summoned to the Middle East to plan Sheikh Nassir's nuptials. But the outrageous sum he's offered will finally give her what she needs to stand on her own two feet. As the planning gets underway, Janna is put off by Nassir's businesslike manner, but she can't deny his appeal. No matter what she's feeling though, Janna has a job to do. Janna values her independence and refuses to fall for a soon-to-be married man, but what will happen when she learns that she is Nassir's intended bride? Book Two: The Sheikh's Stubborn Bride Sheikh Adilan Adjalane has always felt he has a lot to prove…and that's why he always wins. As the youngest in his hugely successful family, it's not easy to live in his older brother's shadow. So when he sees a chance get back his father's land, the former Olympian will fight to earn his place at the top of the family real estate business. But with an older brother who'll stop at nothing and a beautiful, feisty American landowner who refuses to sell, Adilan is struggling to remember that he always fights fair. Teacher Michelle Reynolds has always wanted to see the world, and it doesn't take long for her to fall in love with the Middle East. She's always been open to compromise, but when Adilan Adjalane offers her cash for her land, Michelle refuses. She's determined to build a sanctuary on her mother's land, just as she promised. Besides, she's been warned about the Adjalanes. Adilan may be devastatingly handsome, but she knows he comes from a family of heartbreakers. With the stakes getting higher and their attraction growing, will Adilan have to sacrifice his ethics to earn his place in the family business, or is Michelle more important than winning? Book Three: The Sheikh's Reluctant American Banished Sheikh Malid Adjalane has no interest in returning to the family business under the watchful eye of his controlling father. But if Malid doesn't agree to take on a tough deal, he won't be allowed into the palace to see his dying mother. With no other choice, Malid finds himself deep in negotiations with the largest oil producer in the world. He expected hard work, but he never could have prepared himself for the gorgeous, ambitious woman on the other end of this business deal. Nigella Michaels works hard for her father's oil company, but she still has a lot to prove. It's a masculine industry, and with her dad about to retire, this deal could be just what she needs to show him once and for all that she's the right person to continue his legacy. She's always worked well with others, and this should be no exception. But not even her meticulous research could have prepared Nigella for the instant attraction she has with Malid. After so many years on his own, it won't be easy for Malid to put up with his father's terms. But with Nigella's help, perhaps they'll both learn to balance the weight of their family with their own desires.

Sheikh Adilan Adjalane has always felt he has a lot to prove…and that’s why he always wins. As the youngest in his hugely successful family, it’s not easy to live in his older brother’s shadow. So when he sees a chance get back his father’s land, the former Olympian will fight to earn his place at the top of the family real estate business. But with an older brother who’ll stop at nothing and a beautiful, feisty American landowner who refuses to sell, Adilan is struggling to remember that he always fights fair. Teacher Michelle Reynolds has always wanted to see the world, and it doesn’t take long for her to fall in love with the Middle East. She’s always been open to compromise, but when Adilan Adjalane offers her cash for her land, Michelle refuses. She’s determined to build a sanctuary on her mother’s land, just as she promised. Besides, she’s been warned about the Adjalanes. Adilan may be devastatingly handsome, but she knows he comes from a family of heartbreakers. With the stakes getting higher and their attraction growing, will Adilan have to sacrifice his ethics to earn his place in the family business, or is Michelle more important than winning?

The Sheikh’s Furious Prisoner Saja is summoned back home to the province of Quabeca, and is to be forced into a marriage with Prince Basil Al-Qadir. But Saja is not interested in marriage, even if her betrothed is extremely attractive and wealthy. The Prince has the jawline of a Greek god, is strikingly tall and his muscular figure would intimidate most, but not Saja. After meeting the man for only two minutes she already hates him. He is controlling, argumentative and insufferably arrogant, yet, his dark broody eyes hold an intensity that Saja struggles to pull back from. Prince Al-Qadir has never met a woman like Saja; she is almost from a different species. She wears improper clothing, behaves inappropriately, and has no traditional values. And she does not fear him. In fact, her temper often flares around him. She needs taming, yet he can’t help but notice the feeling that surfaces in his groin when she is around, and the loneliness he feels when she isn’t. Until he has tamed her, he refuses to let her go. But this may be a game he loses, and the Prince never loses. The Sheikh’s Reluctant Hostage Saja has finally met her match. She can’t deny her attraction for Prince Basil Al-Qadir. She has never felt so vulnerable around her towering lover. He makes her go weak at the knees with just a touch or a kiss. When he spoke in his deep, husky voice everyone listened. He was a man to be respected – but that didn’t matter to Saja. She wasn’t afraid to challenge a Prince. Nobody has ever stood up to the Prince before – least of all a woman, even if she is stunningly beautiful. Saja’s stubbornness and refusal to submit to traditional standards only escalates his interest in her. But as a sworn bachelor, he never usually keeps women around long enough for anything emotional to develop – but Saja is different. He has never felt such a strong attraction to a woman before. The Prince is letting his walls down for the first time and every day his feelings for Saja grow deeper and deeper. Then Saja is ripped from his life and held hostage by his sworn enemy. After finally finding love, will the Prince be able to rescue his bride? The Sheikh’s Secret Princess The King has two choices—follow the rules, or follow his heart. The strapping, fearsome King isn’t interested in bringing an heir into the kingdom through his controlling Queen, Amira, or his snobby mistress, Tiana. Their constant battle of “winning” his firstborn child only pushes him into the laundry room where he meets someone who makes him forget all about tradition. She’s stunning, down-to earth, and everything he needs right now. Even if she does tease him a little. Zara isn’t interested in just laundry. The King’s vast power scares many, but Zara isn’t afraid. She knows there is more to him than charismatic charm and good looks. She can see behind the King’s hardened personality and the playful maid’s feelings for him are definitely more than noble. Though, she can’t believe he would ever be interested in a quiet, lowly maid like her. Then Zara is removed from the palace and the Queen sets into action a deadly plot to claim the King’s firstborn child. Will Zara be able to save her King, or will he have to sacrifice his happiness for the sake of tradition?

In the second Quarterly Essay of 2004, Paul McGeough offers a dramatic account of why Iraq remains in chaos despite desperate American efforts to create a model democracy in the Middle East. According to McGeough, Iraq to this day remains a tribal society. It cannot be governed without the cooperation of the true powers in the land, the tribal and religious sheikhs. Those who have ruled Iraq in the past, including Saddam Hussein and the British before him, understood this fact. The Americans, by contrast, seem to have missed the point. In Mission Impossible, Paul McGeough enters the world of key Iraqi tribal and religious leaders. There are vivid portraits of the sheikhs' role in the fall and capture of Saddam, as well as their part in the growing insurgency. There are glimpses, too, of a history that once involved Lawrence of Arabia and Gertrude Bell, and which pre-dates Islam, stretching back thousands of years. Combining reportage and analysis in brilliant fashion, this groundbreaking essay is well timed to coincide with the next major phase in Iraq's troubled history. "Throughout the history of their region, the sheikhs have been the powerbrokers, deciding who would reign between the great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates." —Paul McGeough, Mission Impossible

THE INSURGENTS unfolds against the backdrop of two wars waged against insurgencies-- wars which the Pentagon's top generals didn't know how to fight. But a small group of soldiers and scholars did have a plan for fighting these kinds of wars, people like General David Petraeus and Colonels John Nagl, David Kilcullen, and H.R. McMaster. In order to push the idea of "counterinsurgency" warfare, they behaved like insurgents within their own army-and very self-consciously so. Fred Kaplan explains where this idea came from, and how the men and women who latched onto this idea created a community (some would refer to themselves as a "cabal") that maneuvered the idea through the highest echelons of power. But this is also a cautionary tale about how even creative ideas can harden into dogma, how smart strategists-the "best and the brightest" of our times-can sometimes sway politicians but don't always win wars. The Insurgents made their military more adaptive to the conflicts of the post-Cold War era, but their self-confidence led us deeper into wars that we shouldn't have been fighting and perhaps couldn't have been won.

This paperback version of Pastor John Hagee's newest book has ripped-from-the-headlines updates. New material has been added regarding the death of the dollar, a nuclear Iran, and the rejection of Israel. Further, this New York Times best-selling author says the United States is heading into a “Perfect Storm.” Titanic. John F. Kennedy’s assassination. 9/11. John Hagee maintains that these American tragedies all have one element in common: they were unthinkable. And in the opening pages of his newest book, Can America Survive? Hagee uses these tragedies to prove two points: that the unthinkable can happen and, given the right conditions, the unthinkable can quickly become the inevitable. In Can America Survive? Hagee asserts that the seeds for tragedy are once again being sown, evidenced by the disturbing economic, geopolitical, and religious trends that now threaten to dismantle the very nation itself. “Think it can’t happen?” Hagee asks in a theme repeated throughout the book. “Think again.” Indeed, Hagee presents alarming examples of recent events, current research, scientific evidence, and biblical prophecy that are gathering to create a “perfect storm” that could bring down the “unsinkable” United States of America including: The U.S.’s negligent handling of Israel, and history’s evidence of the danger to any nation that challenges Israel’s God-mandated right to exist The dangerous belittling of Iran’s nuclear threat by careless spy agencies—and the super-weapon that could stop the U.S. in its tracks instantly The chilling biblical prophecy that confirms Iran as one of six countries that will form an Islamic military force “as a cloud to cover the land” The real $2.5 trillion price tag of healthcare reform, the international currency shifts, and the national economic trends that are poised to bring about the death of the American dollar The criminalization of Christianity around the world; Can America Survive? is not just a warning. It is a wake-up call and a rallying cry to Christian citizens everywhere to prevent the next unthinkable American disaster. After all, as Hagee points out, “those who do not remember the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them in the future.” Think it can’t happen? Think again.

American Sheikhs is the story of a great institution—the American University of Beirut (AUB)—and the families who created and fostered it for almost 150 years. Author Brian VanDeMark’s vivid narrative includes not only the colorful history of AUB and many memorable episodes in a family saga, but also larger and more important themes. In the story of the efforts of these two families to build a great school with alternating audacity, arrogance, generosity, paternalism, and vision, the author clearly sees an allegory for the larger history of the United States in the Middle East. Before 1945, AUB’s history is largely positive. Despite American nationalism and presumptions of Manifest Destiny, Middle Easterners generally viewed the school as an engine of constructive change and the United States as a benign force in the region. But in the post-World War II era, with the rise of America as a world power, AUB found itself buffeted by the strong winds of nationalist frustration, Zionism and anti-Zionism, and—eventually—Islamic extremism. Middle Easterners became more ambivalent about America’s purposes and began to see the university not just as a cradle of learning but also as an agent of undesirable Western interests. This story is full of meaning today. By revealing how and why the Blisses and Dodges both succeeded and failed in their attempts to influence the Middle East, VanDeMark shows how America’s outreach to the Middle East can be improved and the vital importance of maintaining good relations between Americans and the Arab world in the new century.