Notes on a Century: Reflections of a Middle East Historian

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Went Wrong? tells the story of his extraordinary life

After September 11, Americans who had never given much thought to the Middle East turned to Bernard Lewis for an explanation, catapulting What Went Wrong? and later Crisis of Islam to become number one bestsellers. He was the first to warn of a coming "clash of civilizations," a term he coined in 1957, and has led an amazing life, as much a political actor as a scholar of the Middle East. In this witty memoir he reflects on the events that have transformed the region since World War II, up through the Arab Spring.

A pathbreaking scholar with command of a dozen languages, Lewis has advised American presidents and dined with politicians from the shah of Iran to the pope. Over the years, he had tea at Buckingham Palace, befriended Golda Meir, and briefed politicians from Ted Kennedy to Dick Cheney. No stranger to controversy, he pulls no punches in his blunt criticism of those who see him as the intellectual progenitor of the Iraq war. Like America’s other great historian-statesmen Arthur Schlesinger and Henry Kissinger, he is a figure of towering intellect and a world-class raconteur, which makes Notes on a Century essential reading for anyone who cares about the fate of the Middle East.

Few historians end up as major historical actors in their own right. At the age of 96, Bernard Lewis has both witnessed and participated in some of the key events of the last century, from his time working for MI6 in London and throughout the Middle East during World War II to his sudden transformation into a sought-after interpreter of the Middle East after September 11. When we think of the Middle East, we think of it in terms that he defined and articulated.

A brilliant storyteller with an extraordinary gift for languages, Lewis regales us with tales of memorable encounters with Edward Kennedy, the Shah of Iran, Golda Meir, Muammar Qaddafi, Pope John Paul II, King Hussein, and Dick Cheney, among many others. Witty, lively, and movingly written, this exceptional memoir offers an intimate look at the key events of the twentieth century through the eyes of one of the most vital historians of our time.

Buntzie Ellis Churchill served for twenty-three years as the president of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and for a decade hosted the daily radio show World Views.