This indispensable resource for Western readers about the Kurds—an ancient indigenous group that exemplifies diversity in the Middle East—examines their history, politics, economics, and social structure.

• Supplies a thorough examination of the Kurds, a people that are of great interest and relevance to the general public because of their successful campaign against the Islamic State

• Offers a local, regional, and global perspective on important current Middle Eastern issues through the context of the Kurdish people

• Underscores how the Kurds stand for diversity and pluralism in an otherwise homogeneous Middle East

• Enables readers to develop a much better understanding of U.S. involvement in the Middle East

• Includes entries written by a team of international contributors, including many Kurdish scholars