This two-volume set helps clarify the region's complex history and ongoing problems--and corrects some of the misperceptions--by exploring seven areas of overarching significance. Rather than focusing on specific conflicts, this work deals specifically with the broader issues of culture, religion, women, economics, governance, and media, as well as the role that the region's modern history has played in shaping the ways of life, values, and worldviews of its peoples. --from publisher description