Last month, we shared the news that John McHugo had been nominated for the 2014 Transmission Award, which is given each year by Salon London. John is nominated for work related to his latest book, A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE ARABS (published by Saqi Books). Since then, Salon London has posted a podcast about John’s work and the other two nominees.

For your listening pleasure, here is the podcast…

Here is the synopsis for A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE ARABS…

The key to understanding the Arab world – today and in the future – lies in unlocking its past.

John McHugo unfolds centuries of political, social and intellectual development, from the Roman Empire right up to the present day. Taking the reader beyond the headlines, McHugo presents a series of turning points in Arab history: the mission of the Prophet Muhammad, the expansion of Islam, the conflicts of the medieval and modern ages, the struggles against foreign domination, the rise of Islamism, and the end of the rule of dictators.

Accessible and penetrating, this concise history reveals how the Arab world has come to assume its present form and illuminates the choices that lie ahead in the wake of the Arab Spring.