Thank you for the book referance!
I don't think i have read that one!
Right now I am slogging through a 20 plus year old copy of "The Arabs"....
It's damning, and worthwhile.
Don't recall the author's name off the top of my head. I believe it's also out of print.
(Half.com? )
THANK YOU for your service to our country!
"Warriors of the Steppe" is about all the hyper aggressive nomad armies that came from the heart of Asia. Not all were Muslim by any means. But it's about the depredations that nomads must make on sedentary (agricultural) nations in order to sustain themselves. Even Poland and Ukraine suffered from these warriors on horseback. Tatars in their case.
In this current war I see Arab Muslims as the nomads attacking the more reasonable sedentary nations. Even though most Arabs live in cities I still see them as having their nomad heritage still in their hearts. Just look at the crimes and wars of Muhammad. He was a a raider same as any other nomad.