The Arabs

An ideal introduction to Arab history and culture.

Phillip Khuri Hitti (1886 - 1978) was a Lebanese-American professor and foremost authority on Arab and Middle Eastern history, Islam, and Semetic languages. A scholar Princeton and Harvard University, he almost single-handedly created the discipline of Arabic studies in America. As a Chair at Princeton University, a position he held from February 1926 until his retirement in 1954, he taught Arabic to servicemen through the Army Specialized Training Program during World War II. He died in Princeton, NJ on December 24th, 1978.