The following is a short list of books that the staff of the Yemen Language Center recommends for further reading. We will add to this list as we find more useful information, including journal and periodical entries. We welcome recommendations from our visitors.

• General Studies
• Understanding Arabs, (Margaret Nydell): A short but very useful introduction to cultural expectations that Arabs and foreigners have of each other and suggestions for dealing with these expectations. This book can be found in most major libraries and in some bookstores.
• Islam (Frederick Denny): This is a brief primer on Islam.
• Sana'a, An Arabian Islamic City, (World of Islam Festival Trust): This encyclopedic collection of very detailed information on Sanani Yemeni customs is very rare. Only 2,000 copies are known to exists, but if you live near a large library, you might look it up.
• Tribes, Government and History in Yemen, (Paul Dresch): This book describes the tribal customs and politics in great detail. It is most relevant to northern half of Yemen, but interesting reading for those who plan on hiking in the mountains of Yemen (which I highly recommend).
• The Calligraphic State, (Brinkly Messicks): This is an examination of textual authority in the province of Ibb (south of Sana'a). Particularly useful for its reflection of the changes in Yemen during the past century.

• Travel Narratives and Guides
• A history of the Arab Peoples, Albert Hourani. For those students with little or no background in the Middle East, we recommend this text for its concise overview of the history and culture of the Arab people. Students will note that the picture of Sana'a that appears in this text was taken close to our student dormitory in the gold district of Bab Al-Sabah.
• Peaks of Yemen I Summon, Steve Canton. Canton's work examines poetry as a political act in Yemen.
• Yemen, a Travel Survival Kit, Lonely Planet Series. The 1995 edition of this book contains useful information for those desiring to travel within Yemen, including hotels, resorts, museums, historical sites and information on health concerns.
• Jemen, (Reise Know-How series): For those German speaking students, this guide presents quite a bit more information than the Lonely Planet on hiking/trekking trails in Yemen. Non-German speakers may find the maps and translations of particular passages useful.
• Motoring with Muhammad, Eric Hansen, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. This is an amusing tale of one traveler's exploits in Yemen. It makes a very light, but entertaining introduction to Yemeni culture.
• Yemen and the Western World, Eric Macro: An interesting account of the impact the West made on the development of South West Arabia.
• Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land, Tim Mackintosh-Smith. London: John Murray, 1997. ISBN 0-7195-5622-8
• Eating the Flowers of Paradise: One Man's Journey through Ethiopia and Yemen, Kevin Rushby, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, 1999 ISBN 0-312-21794-3
• Baghdad without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia, Tony Horwitz, New York: Plume, 1992. ISBN 0-452-26745-5