The ten essays presented by Dresch (social anthropology, U. of Oxford, UK) and Piscatory (fellow, Wadham College, Oxford, UK) address a range of issues related to culture and identity for populations of the Arab states of the Gulf. Topics include linguistic self-depiction on local Bahraini television musalsalat (or soap operas), identity formation in Arab London, Zanzibari identity "in-betweenness" and foreign-domestic mediator roles in Oman, citizenship entitlement and the political implications of Kuwaiti identity, nationality and the place of women as reflected in public debates on marriage in the United Arab Emirates, political identity formation and mass education in Oman, the role of electorally disenfranchised women in Kuwaiti politics, and the hajj (the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca) as a transnational phenomena and its effects on Saudi legitimacy. Distributed in the US by Palgrave. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)