This book covers the Middle East from a topical or systematic perspective focusing on the states of the Gulf and southern Arabian Peninsula. It includes the dramatic developments in the Arab world across North Africa and in the heart of the Middle East since late 2010 termed as the "Arab Spring.".

Preface and Acknowledgments to the Sixth Edition -- A Note on Transliteration -- Physical and Cultural Geography -- Tricontinental Junction: An Introduction -- The Face of the Earth -- Patterns of Time Historical-Geographical Foundations -- Patterns of Peoples, Cultures, and Settlements: A Demographic Overview -- The Desert and the Sown: Land Use -- Riches Beneath the Earth -- Manufacturing And Transportation -- The Earth And State: Geopolitics -- The Earth And The State: Conflicts on the ground -- Regional Geography -- Manufacturing and Transportation: Middle East Heartland -- Lebanon And Cyprus: A Mountain And An Island -- Lebanon And Cyprus: The Land Beyond And Between -- Israel And Palestine: One Land, Two Polities -- Iraq: Modern Mesopotamia -- Saudi Arabia -- Three City States Along the Gulf -- The Horn of Arabia -- Yemen Arabia Felix -- Egypt A River And A People -- Turkey Bridgeland in Anatolia -- Iran: Complex Republic on the Plateau -- Partial Bibliography