The History Book Club discussion

I wanted to list some Israeli-Arab conflict books:

Benny Morris

Product info:
This history of the foundational war in the Arab-Israeli conflict is groundbreaking, objective, and deeply revisionist. A riveting account of the military engagements, it also focuses on the war's political dimensions. Benny Morris probes the motives and aims of the protagonists on the basis of newly opened Israeli and Western documentation. The Arab side—where the archives are still closed—is illuminated with the help of intelligence and diplomatic materials.

Morris stresses the jihadi character of the two-stage Arab assault on the Jewish community in Palestine. Throughout, he examines the dialectic between the war's military and political developments and highlights the military impetus in the creation of the refugee problem, which was a by-product of the disintegration of Palestinian Arab society. The book thoroughly investigates the role of the Great Powers—Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union—in shaping the conflict and its tentative termination in 1949. Morris looks both at high politics and general staff decision-making processes and at the nitty-gritty of combat in the successive battles that resulted in the emergence of the State of Israel and the humiliation of the Arab world, a humiliation that underlies the continued Arab antagonism toward Israel.

Michael B. Oren

Product info:
Though it lasted for only six tense days in June, the 1967 Arab-Israeli war never really ended. Every crisis that has ripped through this region in the ensuing decades, from the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to the ongoing intifada, is a direct consequence of those six days of fighting. Michael B. Oren’s magnificent Six Days of War, an internationally acclaimed bestseller, is the first comprehensive account of this epoch-making event.

Writing with a novelist’s command of narrative and a historian’s grasp of fact and motive, Oren reconstructs both the lightning-fast action on the battlefields and the political shocks that electrified the world. Extraordinary personalities—Moshe Dayan and Gamal Abdul Nasser, Lyndon Johnson and Alexei Kosygin—rose and toppled from power as a result of this war; borders were redrawn; daring strategies brilliantly succeeded or disastrously failed in a matter of hours. And the balance of power changed—in the Middle East and in the world. A towering work of history and an enthralling human narrative, Six Days of War is the most important book on the Middle East conflict to appear in a generation.

Abraham Rabinovich

Publisher's Weekly:
Rabinovich, a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, has researched thoroughly and written with clarity, balance and compassion for the victims of a war much larger and fiercer than most Western readers have believed. Anwar Sadat emerges as a major player, having reformed the Egyptian Army and evolved a national strategy of limited objectives. The Israelis, Rabinovich argues, then played into Sadat's hands by intelligence failures that delayed their mobilization, gross underestimation of Arab fighting qualities, and not reckoning on new enemy weapons (the SA-6 antiaircraft missile and the Sagger antitank missile) that would make the Israeli Air Force and armor-heavy ground troops vulnerable. The result was a war that began with serious Israeli losses and major Arab advances, in the Sinai and on the Golan Heights, within miles of Israeli civilians. Sheer hard fighting by the Israelis at the front limited the damage, however, and in spite of leadership conflicts and a few outright failures that Rabinovich dramatizes with flair, a viable Israeli strategy supported by improved tactics gradually emerged. The result was a victory for Israel that was actually more devastating than the Six-Day War, with the added effect of leading to a partial peace with Egypt and later Syria and Jordan. Rabinovich may overpraise Henry Kissinger, and he may underplay the Israeli Air Force, but his book covers everything else at a level equally useful to both the newcomer and the experienced student of the subject. Copyright © Reed Business Information,

Bryan....those books sound terrific. Thanks for those recommendations.

Now I have to admit that I was not familiar with this book which is by a noted historian who I particularly like.

by Barbara W. Tuchman.

Has anyone read it and if so, do you recommend it?

Great adds Bryan, thank you.

Some good books there Bryan amd I think I have most of them but haven't gotten around to reading them yet, damn! Great you have mentioned them so other readers can check them out. Here are two older military histories but still great reads:

by Eric Hammel
Description:
A look at the Six-Day War describes how the Israelis adopted German World War II tactics--including lightning fast attacks and shock air assaults--to defeat the Arab armies.

Review:
"In this highly readable popular history, Hammel (Chosin) maintains that the countdown for the Six-Day War began in July 1964, when Israel's completion of a system of canals and aqueducts to carry fresh water from the Sea of Galilee evoked fears in Arab neighbors that Israel was expecting an influx of settlers. Hammel argues convincingly that the 1967 war marked the finest performance of the Israel Defense Force, which in less than a week defeated the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria with a minimum of Israeli casualties. Pointing out that the IDF, unlike other military forces around the world, channels its best-educated conscripts into the combat arms rather than into the technical branches, Hammel illustrates the practical benefits of this policy with examples of imaginative improvisations by brigade- and squadron-level commanders during the 1967 war. With its emphasis on the David vs. Goliath aspects of the short decisive war, this proves a stirring tale." - Publishers Weekly


by Eric Hammel
Reviews:
"This is the story of the largest tank battle since World War II: Syria and its Iraqi and Jordanian allies lost some 1450 tanks in the struggle for the Golan Heights in October 1973. The Israelis lost 250 and won the battle in four days. The combat scenes are well done, but the most interesting aspect of the book is the description of the emergency mobilization of the Israeli army amidst Yom Kippur observances and the improvisations necessary as the high command thrust units helter-skelter into battle. There is new information here about the Syrian buildup and the uneasy alliance between President Assad and Egyptian President Sadat. Asher (an Israeli) and Hammel (author of several military books) argue that despite Assad's assumption that his forces would be able to roll over Israeli positions before significant reinforcements arrived, the Syrian grand strategy was doomed from the start because of the planners' fears of possible political repercussions." - Publishers Weekly

"A riproaring story of the role of the Israeli defenders on the Golan Heights during the Arab-Israeli war of 1983. Rich in detail of battles, units, and weapons, the book is a treasure trove for the military historian. It also provides a new political perspective, giving more weight to Syrian influence in the decision to initiate a combined effort with Egypt against Israel in 1973. A theme that may cause dispute is that the Golan was saved essentially because of the efforts of the Israeli armor, rather than the air force or the infantry. A good guide to be read along with Avigdor Kahalani's The Heights of Courage ( LJ 11/1/84). Well suited for a wide range of readers." - Library Journal

Would you all quit adding to my TBR list!!!!! I will have to be reincarnated several times to read them all.

Nice to see that there are a few of us in the same boat :)

Here is a description of a person in my current book; "Commander of the Faithful", that I quite enjoyed; “In addition to Hebrew, he spoke fluently Arabic, French, Spanish, English and Turkish. He was charming, diplomatic and practiced skilfully his belief that God had given man the power of language so he could hide his thoughts.”

by John W. Kiser

if you're looking for a good book on the Israeli war of "indepenence" read this one:

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by:Ilan Pappé

way better than benny morris and much more pro Palestinian which is hard to find:P

Hi Joel, I have a copy of "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" which I do need to try and read sooner than later!


by Ilan Pappé

Joel, Aussie Rick added the citation the way it should be added on the HBC. We always add the book cover, the author's photo and the author's link.

Please look for the folder called Help Desk. In that folder is a thread titled Mechanics of the Board which will show you how to do the citations the way we require.

ok thanks I'll check that again its been a while since i commented on a thread:P yes read it soon its really awesome:D

This book is pretty good:

by Michael B. Oren

Synopsis

This best-selling history is the first fully comprehensive history of America's involvement in the Middle East from George Washington to George W. Bush. As Niall Ferguson writes, "If you think America s entanglement in the Middle East began with Roosevelt and Truman, Michael Oren's deeply researched and brilliantly written history will be a revelation to you, as it was to me. With its cast of fascinating characters earnest missionaries, maverick converts, wide-eyed tourists, and even a nineteenth-century George Bush." Power, Faith, and Fantasy is not only a terrific read, it is also proof that you don't really understand an issue until you know its history.

This book, by noted attorney and professor, Alan Dershowitz, may be controversial to many but he clearly states the raison d'etre for Israel's existence from the Balfour Declaration to the present day.


The Case For Israel

by Alan M. Dershowitz


Synopsis

The Case for Israel is an ardent defense of Israel's rights, supported by indisputable evidence. Presents a passionate look at what Israel's accusers and detractors are saying about this war-torn country.Dershowitz accuses those who attack Israel of international bigotry and backs up his argument with hard facts.Widely respected as a civil libertarian, legal educator, and defense attorney extraordinaire, Alan Dershowitz has also been a passionate though not uncritical supporter of Israel.

I'm waiting for a book at the library that came out this month.

The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia

by Gregory Johnsen

Synopsis

A gripping account of how al-Qaeda in Yemen rebounded from an initial defeat to once again threaten the United States.

Far from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and al-Qaeda are fighting a clandestine war of drones and suicide bombers in an unforgiving corner of Arabia.

The Last Refuge charts the rise, fall, and resurrection of al-Qaeda in Yemen over the last thirty years, detailing how a group that the United States once defeated has now become one of the world s most dangerous threats. An expert on Yemen who has spent years on the ground there, Gregory D. Johnsen uses al-Qaeda s Arabic battle notes to reconstruct their world as they take aim at the United States and its allies. Johnsen brings readers in-side al-Qaeda s training camps and safe houses as the terrorists plot poison attacks and debate how to bring down an airliner on Christmas Day. The Last Refuge is an eye-opening look at the successes and failures of fighting a new type of war in one of the most turbulent countries in the world.

I took a course in college called "Women and Gender in the Middle East" and read a variety of books. I especially enjoyed writing my final paper on deaf courtiers in the Ottoman Empire which I found fascinating. I'll have to consult my list and get back to you about the books.

This isn't exactly history, at least not until tomorrow, but this is a link to a really great report on CNN on the situation/civil war in Syria.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/02/world/m...

Here's two titles on the collapse of the Ottoman empire and its consequences on the region:

by Daniel Allen Butler

Synopsis
The history of the Ottoman Empire spanned more than seven centuries. At the height of its power, it stretched over three continents and produced marvels of architecture, literature, science, and warfare. When it fell, its collapse redrew the map of the world and changed the course of history."Shadow of the Sultan s Realm" is the story of the empire s dissolution during a tumultuous period that climaxed in the First World War. In its telling are battles and campaigns that have become the stuff of legend Gallipoli, Kut, Beersheeba waged by men who have become larger than life: Enver Bey, the would-be patriot who was driven more by ambition than by wisdom; T. E. Lawrence ( Lawrence of Arabia ), the enigmatic leader of an irregular war against the Turks; Aaron Aaronsohn, the Jewish botanist-turned-spy who deceived his Turkish and British allies with equal facility; David Lloyd George, the prime minister for whom power meant everything, integrity nothing; Mehmet Talaat, who gave the orders that began the Armenian massacres; Winston Churchill, who created a detailed plan for the Gallipoli campaign, which should have been the masterstroke of the Great War; Mustafa Kemal, a gifted soldier who would become a revolutionary politician and earn the name Ataturk; Arthur Balfour, the British foreign secretary who would promise anything to anyone; and Edmund Allenby, the general who failed in the trench warfare of the western front but fought brilliantly in Palestine.Daniel Allen Butler weaves the stories of the men and the events that propelled them into a compelling narrative of the death of an empire. Its legacy is the cauldron of the modern Middle East.



by David Fromkin

Synopsis
The critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling account of how the modern Middle East came into being after World War I, and why it is in upheaval today

In our time the Middle East has proven a battleground of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and dynasties. All of these conflicts, including the hostilities between Arabs and Israelis that have flared yet again, come down, in a sense, to the extent to which the Middle East will continue to live with its political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed upon the region by the Allies after the First World War.

In A Peace to End All Peace, David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies came to remake the geography and politics of the Middle East, drawing lines on an empty map that eventually became the new countries of Iraq, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all-even an alliance between Arab nationalism and Zionism-seemed possible he raises questions about what might have been done differently, and answers questions about why things were done as they were. The current battle for a Palestinian homeland has its roots in these events of 85 years ago.

Another title:

Kingmakers: The Invention of the Modern Middle East

by Karl E. Meyer

Synopsis

Kingmakers is the story of how the modern Middle East came to be, told through the lives of the Britons and Americans who shaped it. Some are famous (Lawrence of Arabia and Gertrude Bell); others infamous (Harry St. John Philby, father of Kim); some forgotten (Sir Mark Sykes, Israel's godfather, and A. T. Wilson, the territorial creator of Iraq); some controversial (the CIA's Miles Copeland and the Pentagon's Paul Wolfowitz). All helped enthrone rulers in a region whose very name is an Anglo-American invention. As a bonus, we meet the British Empire's power couple, Lord and Lady Lugard (Flora Shaw): she named Nigeria, he ruled it; she used the power of the Times of London to attempt a regime change in the gold-rich Transvaal. The narrative is character-driven, and the aim is to restore to life the colorful figures who for good or ill gave us the Middle East in which Americans are enmeshed today.

And another:

A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914-1948

by James Barr

Synopsis

It was the middle of World War I. Two men—one, a visionary British politician (Mark Sykes), the other, a veteran French diplomat (François Georges-Picot)—secretly agreed to divide the Middle East. Britain would have “mandates” in newly created Palestine, Transjordan, and Iraq; France in Lebanon and Syria. For the next thirty years, this divide would make uneasy neighbors of two great powers and irreparably shape the Middle East. James Barr combs recently declassified French and British government archives and unearths a shocking secret war and its powerful effect on the local Arabs and Jews. He follows politicians, diplomats, and spies through intrigue and espionage to show us T. E. Lawrence’s stealth guerrilla terror campaigns, and he journeys behind closed doors to discover why Britain courted the Zionist movement. Meticulously well researched and character-driven, A Line in the Sand crescendos with the violent birth of Israel, all along the way brimming with insight into a historically volatile region.

Thank you Jerome.

The British Mandate which basically started it all is dissected in this book by the Pulitzer Prize winning author.

Jerusalem 1913: The Origns of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

by Amy Dockser Marcus

Synopsis

Searching for the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict, historians for years focused on the British Mandate period (1920-1948). Amy Dockser Marcus, however, demonstrates that the bloody struggle for power actually started much earlier, when Jerusalem was still part of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism laid the groundwork for the battles that would continue to rage nearly a century later.

Nineteen thirteen was the crucial year for these conflictsthe year that the Palestinians held the First Arab Congress and the first time that secret peace talks were held between Zionists and Palestinians. World War I, however, interrupted these peace efforts.

Dockser Marcus traces these dramatic times through the lives of a handful of the city's leading citizens as they struggle to survive. A current events must read in our ongoing efforts to understand the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Here are some of the books I'd recommend on Middle Eastern History.

1001 Inventions: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilization
Salim T.S. Al-Hassani

The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaisance
Jim Al-Khalili


Women, Men and Eunuchs: Gender in Byzantium
Elizabeth James

Women and the Fatimids in the World of Islam
Delia Cortese

Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes
Tamim Ansary

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes
Amin Maalouf

Orientalism
Edward W. Said

I'm new to the group and I don't want to overstep my bounds or anything so I'll leave it at a few recommendations for now.

Awesome job at the citations Cassandra. If a author does not have a picture, you don't need to put it in. Just the author link.

Also, you are just missing one author link:

Amin Maalouf

A book that has no author photo:

Delia Cortese

Go ahead and edit your post to add this stuff. Great job.

The Crusade book looks good. I will have to add it to my reading pile.

WHEN BAGHDAD RULED THE MUSLIM WORLD: THE RISE AND FALL OF ISLAM'S GREATEST DYNASTY

by Hugh Kennedy

Description
The "golden age of Islam" in the eighth and ninth centuries was as significant to world history as the Roman Empire was in the first and second centuries. The rule of Baghdad's Abbasid Dynasty stretched from Tunisia to India, and its legacy influenced politics and society for years to come. In this deftly woven narrative, Hugh Kennedy introduces us to the rich history and flourishing culture of the period, and the men and women of the palaces at Baghdad and Samarra-the caliphs, viziers, eunuchs, and women of the harem that produced the glorious days of the Arabian Nights.

Excellent recommendation, Cassandra. Thanks.

Shifting Sands: The United States in the Middle East

by Joel S Migdal (no photo)

Synopsis:

Joel S. Migdal focuses on the approach U.S. officials adopted toward the Middle East after World War II, one that paid scant attention to tectonic shifts in the region. The United States did not restrict its strategic model to the Middle East -- beginning with Harry S. Truman, American presidents applied a uniform strategy rooted in the country's Cold War experience in Europe to regions across the globe, designed to project America into nearly every corner of the world while limiting costs and overreach.

The approach was simple: find a local power that could play Great Britain's role in Europe after the war, sharing the burden of exercising power, and establish a security alliance along the lines of NATO. Yet regional changes following the creation of Israel, the Free Officers Coup in Egypt, the rise of Arab nationalism from 1948 to 1952, and, later, the Iranian Revolution and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979 complicated this project. Migdal shows how insufficient attention to these key transformations led to a series of missteps and misconceptions in the twentieth century. With the Arab uprisings of 2009--2011 prompting another major shift, Migdal sees an opportunity for the United States to deploy a new, more workable strategy, and he concludes with a plan for gaining a stable foothold.

No problem, Libby.

Thank you Jerome.

pls if any1 has book for middle east history in pdf version do sent me plss

Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran

by Amin Saikal (no photo)

Synopsis:

The West Asian states of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran have over the last few decades represented an arc of crisis. Characterized by fractured and dysfunctional political elites, fraught economic policies, and ideological struggles between the forces of authoritarianism and democratization, neo-fundamentalism and pluralism, they embody a mosaic of ethnicities. Amin Saikal, a distinguished Afghan-born scholar of international affairs, provides a sweeping new understanding of the complex contemporary political and social instability encompassing the region.

Critically comparing democratization and counter-insurgency efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, and examining both recent Western intervention and the history of foreign influence in the region, Saikal looks at how US entanglement has affected Pakistani and Iranian domestic politics and foreign affairs. How has this influenced the success or failure of the occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq? What solutions can be taken to ensure regional security? An informed and balanced overview on a troubled region, this book will fascinate general readers and prove essential reading for specialists.

Thank you Jerome for perking up the Middle Eastern threads.

The Gulf States: A Modern History

by David Commins (no photo)

Synopsis:

The geopolitical importance of the Gulf region is a source both of great interest and great tension. David Commins here provides an in-depth narrative of the modern political history of the Gulf States, providing a comprehensive and accessible account of their recent development and strategic importance. Focusing primarily on economic, cultural, religious and social themes from the 14th century to the present, The Gulf States covers key topics of the region's history, from the influence of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Arab dynasties, to oil wealth, modern prosperity and the formation of the Gulf States as we know them today. With the importance and influence of the Gulf States continuing to increase, this book is an invaluable source of information on the Gulf region's development for researchers and students alike.

by Robert Hoyland

Synopsis:
Before Muhammed preached the religion of Islam, the inhabitants of his native Arabia had played an important role in world history as both merchants and warriors. This is a survey of the region and its peoples from prehistory to the coming of Islam.

A difficult, but very informative book for anyone interested in the subject.

Thanks Nrtashi, very helpful.

That looks like a real interesting add Teri, thank you.

Jesse, that sounds like a fascinating book. I've added it to my TBR list.

Sorry.... I didn't mean "Jesse"! Thank you, Teri, for posting about the

Thank you Teri

by Robert G. Hoyland

Description:
This is a humanistic approach to the conquest and spread of the Arab/ Muslim empires of the 6th and 7th century. It looks at both the demise of the Persian Empire and the decline of the Byzantine Empire, which allows for the expansion of Arab armies.
This book, as the introduction will tell you, gives precedence to sources from the 6th and 7th centuries over documents from the 9th and 10th. The purpose of this approach is to show that the steady growth of Islam was not immediate and uniform, but instead took time for Arabian forces to take control of the Middle East, Persia and Northern Africa.

An upcoming book by a great author:
Release date: November 3, 2015

The Ottoman Endgame: War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East, 1908 - 1923

by Sean McMeekin (no photo)

Synopsis:

Between 1911 and 1922, a series of wars would engulf the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, in which the central conflict, of course, is World War I—a story we think we know well. As Sean McMeekin shows us in this revelatory new history of what he calls the “wars of the Ottoman succession,” we know far less than we think. The Ottoman Endgame brings to light the entire strategic narrative that led to an unstable new order in postwar Middle East—much of which is still felt today.

The Ottoman Endgame: War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East draws from McMeekin’s years of groundbreaking research in newly opened Ottoman and Russian archives. With great storytelling flair, McMeekin makes new the epic stories we know from the Ottoman front, from Gallipoli to the exploits of Lawrence in Arabia, and introduces a vast range of new stories to Western readers. His accounts of the lead-up to World War I and the Ottoman Empire’s central role in the war itself offers an entirely new and deeper vision of the conflict. Harnessing not only Ottoman and Russian but also British, German, French, American, and Austro-Hungarian sources, the result is a truly pioneering work of scholarship that gives full justice to a multitiered war involving many belligerents.

McMeekin also brilliantly reconceives our inherited Anglo-French understanding of the war’s outcome and the collapse of the empire that followed. The book chronicles the emergence of modern Turkey and the carve-up of the rest of the Ottoman Empire as it has never been told before, offering a new perspective on such issues as the ethno-religious bloodletting and forced population transfers which attended the breakup of empire, the Balfour Declaration, the toppling of the caliphate, and the partition of Iraq and Syria—bringing the contemporary consequences into clear focus.

Every so often, a work of history completely reshapes our understanding of a subject of enormous historical and contemporary importance. The Ottoman Endgame is such a book, an instantly definitive and thrilling example of narrative history as high art.

An upcoming book:
Release date: August 11, 2015

The Tail Wags the Dog: International Politics and the Middle East

by Efraim Karsh

Synopsis:

The continuing crisis in Syria has raised questions over the common perception of Middle Eastern affairs as an offshoot of global power politics. To Western intellectuals, foreign policy experts, and politicians, "empire" and "imperialism" are categories that apply exclusively to Europe and more recently to the United States of America. As they see it, Middle Eastern history is the product of its unhappy interaction with these powers. Forming the basis of President Obama's much ballyhooed "new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," this outlook is continuing to shape crucial foreign policy among Western governments, but in these pages, Efraim Karsh propounds a radically different interpretation of Middle Eastern experience. He argues that the Western view of Muslims and Arabs as hapless victims is absurd. On the contrary, modern Middle Eastern history has been the culmination of long-existing indigenous trends. Great power influences, however potent, have played a secondary role constituting neither the primary force behind the region's political development nor the main cause of its notorious volatility.

Karsh argues it is only when Middle Eastern people disown their victimization mentality and take responsibility for their actions and their Western champions drop their condescending approach to Arabs and Muslims, that the region can at long last look forward to a real "spring."

Thank you Teri for all of the adds in the Middle Eastern area

Thank you Teri for keeping up all of the Middle Eastern threads.

Bentley wrote: "Thank you Teri for keeping up all of the Middle Eastern threads."

We hope you're feeling better, mr. Bentley.

Thank you Dimitri.

America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History

by Andrew J. Bacevich

Synopsis:

Retired army colonel and New York Times bestselling author Andrew J. Bacevich provides a searing reassessment of U.S. military policy in the Middle East over the past four decades.

From the end of World War II until 1980, virtually no American soldiers were killed in action while serving in the Greater Middle East. Since 1990, virtually no American soldiers have been killed in action anywhere else. What caused this shift? Andrew J. Bacevich, one of the country’s most respected voices on foreign affairs, offers an incisive critical history of this ongoing military enterprise—now more than thirty years old and with no end in sight.

During the 1980s, Bacevich argues, a great transition occurred. As the Cold War wound down, the United States initiated a new conflict—a War for the Greater Middle East—that continues to the present day. The long twilight struggle with the Soviet Union had involved only occasional and sporadic fighting. But as this new war unfolded, hostilities became persistent. From the Balkans and East Africa to the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, U.S. forces embarked upon a seemingly endless series of campaigns across the Islamic world. Few achieved anything remotely like conclusive success. Instead, actions undertaken with expectations of promoting peace and stability produced just the opposite. As a consequence, phrases like “permanent war” and “open-ended war” have become part of everyday discourse.

Connecting the dots in a way no other historian has done before, Bacevich weaves a compelling narrative out of episodes as varied as the Beirut bombing of 1983, the Mogadishu firefight of 1993, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the rise of ISIS in the present decade. Understanding what America’s costly military exertions have wrought requires seeing these seemingly discrete events as parts of a single war. It also requires identifying the errors of judgment made by political leaders in both parties and by senior military officers who share responsibility for what has become a monumental march to folly. This Bacevich unflinchingly does.

A twenty-year army veteran who served in Vietnam, Andrew J. Bacevich brings the full weight of his expertise to this vitally important subject. America’s War for the Greater Middle East is a bracing after-action report from the front lines of history. It will fundamentally change the way we view America’s engagement in the world’s most volatile region.

Thanks Donna, Teri

Thank you Teri

I am currently reading up on the history of Syria which spans from 1900 up to the present day, give or take a year. I felt it was important to learn more about Syria which is constantly in the news headlines and a country I want to learn more about for personal reasons.

Syria: A Recent History



I am halfway through reading this book, and my heart is already broken. The West has messed about with Syria ever since Syria kicked the French out after they were forced to give up the Mandate on Syria, and Syria for the first time became independent. It has never really been allowed to flourish, with meddling by many countries into its internal affairs, and with Israel nicking the Golan Heights which rightly belong to Syria.

I have learnt a lot from reading this book and want to delve further more in-depth into the history of Syria when I have finished reading it. A must read for anyone wanting to look behind the Western media bias over Syria and see what is really going on.

by Scott Anderson

Excellent book to connect dots for me. Be forewarned though, the title is a bit misleading. While Lawrence is a part of the book it isn't really ABOUT Lawrence

My review:

While the title will lead the reader to assume the bulk of the work is focused on on the name most associated with this era of Middle East history, it is really about a host of lesser known characters, who in addition to Lawrence all bear a great deal of responsibility for what ensued in the region with the fall of the Ottoman Empire: Mark Sykes, the author of the infamous Sykes-Picot Agreement who tended to have the simplistic view of the region inherited by many today, William Yale, an American with Standard Oil, Aaronsohn twins, Aaron and Sarah, who were early staunch adherents to the idea of a Jewish state in Palestine, and German Curt Prufer, who may have been one of the founding promoters of jihadist terrorism by Muslim against British rule among others.

I finished about a week ago but needed some time to digest the work before tackling a review. As a pretty well-read student of Middle East history there was so much packed into 500 pages and I appreciated having a number of dots connected for me. First, I finally understand how and why Germany and "Turkey" (I use the term loosely because it was not Turkey at the time) became allies during WWI. Secondly, I had never considered how the Russian Revolution played into coalescing Jewish thought around the world on supporting the Allies in WWII and actively pursuing an official Jewish state in Palestine. The way Anderson makes his case it makes tremendous sense, but it had never dawned on me before. Thirdly, I have read a great deal on the Armenian genocide and the lead up to Balfour accord and its aftermath but always in isolation. It was fascinating to read of the two events in their parallel timeline and how, depending on your viewpoint, Jews under Ottoman rule were either terrified they were next or used it as propaganda to further the Zionist cause. There's a good case to be made for both and it is probably more feasible that there's a little truth to both. Anderson does a superb job of identifying the pivot points where seeds of mistrust germinate between the Middle East and the West while at the same time pointing out why a united "Arab" nation would have been difficult in practicality. Based on these items alone this will always be an important book in my library. I adore "what-ifs" of history. Recently, I've seen a theory bandied about in recent years pondering what would the Middle East look like today if the West hadn't precipitated the fall of the Ottoman Empire with the caliphate in place under Ottoman rule. This book lends more interesting points to consider here.

However, there were a couple of areas where I felt losing a star was credible. First, and I recognize this is because Anderson is a journalist by trade and not an historian by training, much of his writing comes across as opinion with little analysis. There are copious notes in the back but the organization of the work doesn't lend itself to efficiently cross-referencing statements against sources. Finally, while I appreciate the introduction to some characters I knew little about some major players were largely overlooked. For instance, Ataturk is barely mentioned and only in the Epilogue. Finally, what of Gertrude Bell. I went into it defensive because I had read she was ignored. Then, for much of the book, the geography of focus made sense. However, once Faisal arrived on the scene and the British desire to put him forward as the leader it is inexcusable to leave her out. Finally, I'd be interested to know how someone with little foundation in this era received the work. I have no idea. A part of me thinks it would make an excellent broad overview, but on the other hand there is so much material discussed within a relatively short space I don't know if it is enough to drive home some important points.

Every time I read of this era in history I come away shaking my head at how little foresight many had in what we would be dealing with today. However, Lawrence did seem to know, "if a Jewish sate is to be created in Palestine, it will have to be done by force of arms and maintained by force of arms amid an overwhelmingly hostile population." (pg. 426)