Synopses & Reviews
Published with a new afterword from the authorthe classic, bestselling account of how the modern Middle East was created
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflictsincluding the hostilities between Arabs and Israelis, and the violent challenges posed by Iraqs competing sectsare rooted in the regions political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War.
In A Peace to End All Peace, David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time, showing how the choices narrowed and the Middle East began along a road that led to the conflicts and confusion that continue to this day.
A new afterword from Fromkin, written for this edition of the book, includes his invaluable, updated assessment of this region of the world today, and on what this history has to teach us.
David Fromkin is a professor at Boston University and the author of several acclaimed books of nonfiction, including The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners. He lives in New York City.
A New York Times Book Review Best Book of the Year
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflictsincluding the hostilities between Arabs and Israelis, and the violent challenges posed by Iraqs competing sectsare rooted in the regions political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War.
In A Peace to End All Peace, David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time, showing how the choices narrowed and the Middle East began along a road that led to the conflicts and confusion that continue to this day.
A new afterword from Fromkin, written for this edition of the book, includes his invaluable, updated assessment of this region of the world today, and on what this history has to teach us. "One of the first books to take an effective panoramic view of what was happening, not only in Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, and the Arab regions of Asia but also in Afghanistan and central Asia . . . Readers will come away from A Peace to End All Peace not only enlightened but challengedchallenged in a way that is brought home by the irony of the title."The New York Times Book Review "One of the first books to take an effective panoramic view of what was happening, not only in Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, and the Arab regions of Asia but also in Afghanistan and central Asia . . . Readers will come away from A Peace to End All Peace not only enlightened but challengedchallenged in a way that is brought home by the irony of the title."The New York Times Book Review "For journalists in the Middle East, Fromkin has near biblical status."Robert F. Worth, The New York Times
"Wonderful . . . No book published in recent years has more lasting relevance to our understanding of the Middle East."Jack Miles, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Ambitious and splendid . . . An epic tale of ruin and disillusion . . . of great men, their large deeds and even larger follies."Fouad Ajami, The Wall Street Journal
"An extraordinarily ambitious, provocative and vividly written account of the crucial episode in the history of the contemporary Middle East."Reid Beddow, The Washington Post Book World
"[It] achieves an ideal of historical writing: its absorbing narrative not only recounts past events but offers a useful way to think about them . . . The book demands close attention and repays it."Naomi Bliven, The New Yorker
"This book should be must-reading for U.S. foreign policy-makers."Forbes "An account of distant lands and peoples bartered by European colonial powers, of intriguers, idealists, swindlers, and megalomaniacs . . . Superbly told."Michael D. Young, The Baltimore Sun
"Turns history into entertaining drama."Steve Weingartner, Booklist
Review
"Wonderful...No book published in recent years has more lasting relevance to our understanding of the Middle East."—Jack Miles,
Los Angeles Book Review"Extraordinarily ambitious, provocative and vividly written...Fromkin unfolds a gripping tale of diplomatic double-dealing, military incompetence and political upheaval."—Reid Beddow, Washington Post Book World
"Ambitious and splendid...An epic tale of ruin and disillusion...of great men, their large deeds and even larger follies."—Fouad Ajami, The Wall Street Journal
"[It] achieves an ideal of historical writing: its absorbing narrative not only recounts past events but offers a useful way to think about them....The book demands close attention and repays it. Much of the information here was not available until recent decades, and almost every page brings us news about a past that troubles the present."—Naomi Bliven, The New Yorker
"One of the first books to take an effective panoramic view of what was happening, not only in Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, and the Arab regions of Asia but also in Afghanistan and central Asia....Readers will come away from A Peace to End All Peace not only enlightened but challenged—challenged in a way that is brought home by the irony of the title."—The New York Times Book Review
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.
Synopsis
Published with a new afterword from the author—the classic, bestselling account of how the modern Middle East was created
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts—including the hostilities between Arabs and Israelis, and the violent challenges posed by Iraqs competing sects—are rooted in the regions political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War.
In A Peace to End All Peace, David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time, showing how the choices narrowed and the Middle East began along a road that led to the conflicts and confusion that continue to this day.
A new afterword from Fromkin, written for this edition of the book, includes his invaluable, updated assessment of this region of the world today, and on what this history has to teach us.
Synopsis
In 1914, the Middle East was still dominated, as it had been for some four centuries, by the Ottoman empire; by 1923, its political shape had changed beyond recognition as the result of the insistent claims of Arab and Turkish nationalism and of Zionism. This book examines that historic transformation, taking as its focus the work of three leaders. The Hashemite Emir Feisal hoped to head an Arab kingdom but was thwarted by the French. The Turkish war hero Mustafa Kemal defied the imperial ambitions of the European powers to inspire a new Turkish nationalism, founding a secular republic on the ruins of the defeated empire.and#160; The Russian-born scientist Chaim Weizmann seized the chance to secure the Balfour Declaration in favour of Zionism from the British in 1917, and then successfully argued for a British Mandate for Palestine which would carry this out.and#160;
These events set the pattern for what was to follow in much of the Middle East to the present day, including the popular uprisings witnessed in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011. This book, based on extensive research, is a clear account of how the region as we now know it emerged from World War One and its aftermath, with legacies which ought not to be ignored.
For the first time the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is not presented from one perspective, but approached from a transnational angle and set against a multi-faceted historical background.
Synopsis
A century ago, as World War I got underway, the Middle East was dominated, as it had been for centuries, by the Ottoman Empire. But by 1923, its political shape had changed beyond recognition, as the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the insistent claims of Arab and Turkish nationalism and Zionism led to a redrawing of borders and shuffling of alliancesandmdash;a transformation whose consequences are still felt today.
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This fully revised and updated second edition of The Makers of the Modern Middle East traces those changes and the ensuing history of the region through the rest of the twentieth century and on to the present. Focusing in particular on three leadersandmdash;Emir Feisal, Mustafa Kemal, and Chaim Weizmannandmdash;the book offers a clear, authoritative account of the region seen from a transnational perspective, one that enables readers to understand its complex history and the way it affects present-day events.
About the Author
T. G. Fraser is professor emeritus of the University of Ulster and the author of Chaim Weizmann: The Zionist Dream.Andrew Mango [1926-2014] was a longtime manager of Turkish broadcasts for BBC External Services [now called BBC World Service]. He is the author of Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey, From the Sultan to Atatürk: Turkey, and The Turks Today.Robert McNamara is currently a lecturer in International History at the University of Ulster at Coleraine and the author of Britain, Nasser and the Balance of Power in the Middle East, 1952-1972: From the Egyptian Revolution to the Six-Day War.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements
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1. The Birth of Nationalisms
2. Wartime Promises and Expectations
3. Arabs and Zionists in Paris
4. San Remo and Sandegrave;vres: the Flawed Peace
5. The Middle East Rebels and the Peace Settlement Revisited
6. From War to War
7. Conclusion: The Legacy
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Further Reading
Index