The Publication of the 
Arab-American Almanac, 5th Edition

The most comprehensive reference book about Arab-Americans. 

560 pages, in English, in two formats, soft and  hardcover with over 400 photos.
 
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The Arab-American Almanac, 5th edition, recently was published by The News Circle Publishing House, of Glendale, California, announced Joseph R. Haiek, publisher /editor.
This 560-page book is the most comprehensive reference source about the Arab-American community. It contains extensive information and data. It starts with a brief historical chronology of Arab-Americans and follows with an outline of Arab contributions to world civilization in literature, math, medicine, navigation, astrology, science, and architecture. The contributions of Gibran Kahlil Gibran and his pen colleagues to the contemporary Arabic language and literature from America is highlighted. Chapter four covers Arab-American organizations and their service to the community, each within its own specialty, including some founded in the early 1900s.
The press/media is outlined in the fifth chapter, narrating the contributions of the Arab-American press since 1892 when Kawkab America was established in New York, while listing the current working press and how the Arab-American press managed to offer and circulate needed information to most Arab-American households in English and Arabic languages.
Chapter Six is devoted to religious institutions and denominations: Christian, Muslim and Druze, and their expanding presence in America. Who’s Who among Arab-Americans is covered in the seventh chapter which includes the biographies of successful personalities. 
The profiles of the Arab world and the U.S. diplomatic presence are featured in the eighth and ninth chapters with quick-reference tables. A century of Arab-American contributions and achievements is the theme of the newly added tenth chapter, which is divided into many topics including science, medicine, agriculture, entertainment, military, government, business, music, poetry and the arts. Chapter eleven includes a selected bibliography containing a wealth of Arab-American books useful for research, information, perspectives, and history. Chapter twelve provides a taste of the Arabic script and reveals English words of Arabic origin, one of them being ‘almanac.’ 
The Almanac provides addresses, websites, tables, and is illustrated with over 400 photographs.
Dr. Clovis Maksoud, professor at the American University, Washington, D.C., and former Ambassador of the League of Arab States, in his foreword, wrote: “The Arab-American Almanac is a useful guide for tapping available talents and energies and leads to a process of clarification of the path for American-Arab constructive involvement in the American system and enables Arab-Americans to communicate effectively to the American people at large on issues of mutual concern such as coalition building. In this respect, the dynamic interaction among Arab-Americans would sustain their unity of purpose, the uniformity of their narrative and the ensuing empowerment that they can make a substantial difference.
The question arises as to how to fashion a coherent and convincing response to various challenges such as: fulfilling the rights of the community against all forms of discrimination like profiling, secret evidence and other forms of subtle exclusionary policies.
The Arab-American Almanac is inevitably a manifestation of a dedicated publisher and editors. It comes at the beginning of the 21st Century and the start of the new millennium. Many changes have taken place since the first edition of the Almanac series. Since then the Arab-American community has been emboldened. The new generation of Arab-Americans will be the beneficiaries of the activism and investments that have made belonging to the Arab heritage and identity a matter of pride.
In this respect, the Arab-American Almanac, in its 5th Edition, is a device to render the community more active and purposeful. For this reason, special appreciation for Joseph R.Haiek is due from all of us.

In introducing this reference book, Joseph R. Haiek, publisher-Editor, wrote: 
“The News Circle Publishing House has always strived to document, preserve and disseminate the fascinating past and vigorous present of the Arab-American community in the United States of America. In order for this culture to survive and flourish, it must catalogue its history and keep the communication lines open and continuously expand to encompass the living and flourishing community within the American society.
We are proud to present the fifth edition of the Arab-American Almanac as an invaluable reference and unique resource book. Throughout its various updated and expanded chapters, the reader will find factual information about the energetic life of the Arab-American community. 
Good reference literature centering around the 3.5 million Arab-Americans is still scarce and the Arab-American Almanac series is one way in which their story will be heard and preserved. Through this Almanac, we present our credentials and express our ongoing commitment to America, while perpetuating the legacy of our Arab cultural identity. Active participation in our cultural, political, economic, and social life will raise our community profile and create the positive visibility it deserves.
Often Arab-Americans are discriminated against, especially following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and are not given full recognition as an influential community. In recent years, Arab-Americans have chosen not to keep a low profile, hoping and waiting for positive changes to occur. By sharing and participating with the rest of the American society, the interests and perspectives of our community will no longer be discounted or ignored. We must wholeheartedly acknowledge our historical heritage and cultural identity before we can expect others to respect and recognize our contributions and participation in mainstream America.

It is not enough to blame the media about the misinformation they report about Arab Americans. It is imperative to boldly challenge the negative stereotypes and biases in the news media. In this age of high technical communication, information dissemination and advancement of research, we can achieve productive and well-planned goals to address our children’s cultural destiny.
This Almanac is intended for researchers, historians, journalists, scholars, students, policy makers, national and international institutions, libraries, and the American public at large.
The Arab-American Almanac series was first published in 1974 in Los Angeles, with a mere 90 pages. As you scan through this 560-page book, you will realize the extensive information and data it contains. 

The News Circle Publishing House was founded in Los Angeles in 1972 and in its 30 years of covering the Arab-American community, it has been able to focus on the importance of the media and public relations to help disseminate press information in order to achieve better communication and knowledge. The News Circle Arab-American magazine was published in 1972, covering Arab-American affairs; its news, views, business, society, culture, the arts and Arab world related issues. It averages 80 pages per issue, including advertising. The magazine is microfilmed and conserved by major historical societies and libraries. 
To catch up with the information superhighway, The News Circle established its website in 1997, posting Arab-American major community issues, events and commercial banners. A glossary of major articles, editorials and highlights of The News Circle magazine and the Arab-American Almanac series, including a calendar of major national Arab-American events is included.
Since its establishment, The News Circle has accumulated a research library and historical archive that includes Arab-American books and microfilm of major pioneering newspapers originating as early as 1892 in New York. The archive, which is in English and Arabic, includes a large collection of historic photographs. Work is under way, in cooperation with the Arab-American Historical Foundation, to catalogue and preserve The News Circle’s archives, photos, and collections on CD-Rom. On an editorial note, we found it necessary to condense and extensively summarize the voluminous data we researched, collected, and edited.Through future editions we will be able to add more subjects and deal with them in greater depth. 
We welcome your comments and suggestions to assist us in developing and updating our next edition to serve you better. 
The production of this book was made possible through the dedication and perseverance of professional writers, researchers, graphic artists, co-sponsors, advertisers, and a formidable advisory board. I thank them all for their support and contributions toward publishing this historic reference book: the “Arab-American Almanac, 5th Edition.”
The distribution of this Almanac will include: American universities, major libraries, press/media, Arab-Americans and the public at large. There are over 60,000 libraries in the U.S. in addition to over 25,000 publications and media
We are determined to place a copy of this Almanac in thousands of major libraries across the U.S., once needed funds are secured, to help present Arab-American achievements, contributions, commitment and culture,” said Haiek.

The production of this Almanac was made possible through the dedication and perseverance of professional writers, researchers, graphic artists, co-sponsors, advertisers, and a formidable advisory board, among them are:
Editorial: Joseph R. Haiek, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief; Bill Loughlin, Senior Editor; Caterina Haiek, General Manager; William Hannosh, Esq., Christina Smith, Mohammed Waleed, and James C. Zvonec, Assistant Editors.