History of the Arab Peoples ...

... is a book that I own. Here is a description of the book from the inside flap of the dust jacket:

Despite the turmoil of Arab nationalism and fundamentalism, Middle Eastern wars, and oil crises, the history of the Arab world has been little known and poorly understood in the West. One reason may be that, for more than half a century, there has been no up-to-date single-volume work that chronicles the story of Arab civilization--until now.

Albert Hourani, distinguished historian and interpreter, has written a masterwork--a panoramic view encompassing twelve centuries of Arab history and culture. He looks at all sides of this rich and venerable civilization: the beauty of the Alhambra and the great mosques, the importance attached to education, the achievements of Arab science--but also internal conflicts, wide-spread poverty, the role of women, and the contemporary Palestinian question.

Hourani describes how the new religion of Islam created a far-flung Arab Muslim world that embraces lands reaching from the shores of the Atlantic to Iraq and the Indian Ocean. Each has its own geographical features and historical traditions, yet certain themes and experiences are common to all: the rise and spread of Islam, the growth of the Ottoman Empire, the expansion of European trade and empire, and in the last decades, the challenge of Islamic resurgence and integration into a new kind of world. He provides a clear and comprehensive interpretation of the paths of the Muslim religion, its divisions, its authority and traditions, its current contradictory powers to unite and to divide.

It is available on-line from Amazon.com. The paperback edition is only $11.55, plus shipping.