A History of the Middle East: Second Edition

As I have followed news accounts of the Middle East for a lot of years, I often find myself asking, "Why the heck would they do that?". This book goes a long way toward helping me understand why. Reading this book is a little like taking a college course. In fact it would almost lighten things up if there was a quiz at the end of each chapter. There is a lot of good information here. Though it covers the last 200 years, almost half the book focuses on post-World War Two through Sep 11, 2001. There is a lot of background that you will rarely if ever hear on the news, but it really helps to put all the pieces together

This book is not only very informative and well written but also manages to be reasonably impartial on some of the hottest issues in international relations. The tone changes slightly when Pelham takes over from Mansfield but this is also when we approach the present time. I appreciated the fact that criticism is not one-sided as undoubtedly the Israel-vs-Palestinians problem cannot be summarized by placing all blame on any one side. In fact, I found the exposition more balanced and less negative against Israel than I was expecting from somebody who studied arabic in Damascus and is currently living in Jordan. Perhaps the Pelham portion would deserve only 4 stars but the rest of the book would be 5+. I would have appreciated a few more and more informative maps but an overall 5 is well deserved.

As our news brings us constant coverage about the struggles and tensions in this volatile part of our world, I became increasingly aware of my own vague understanding of the history that created the map of these countries as we know them today. Mansfield provided me with the narrative of that history that leads me to a greater capacity to be present to the current conflicts with greater insight. I found the book highly readable. The additional material by Nicholas Pelham brings the book past 9/11 and to the brink of the Iraq war and is carefully prepared to blend with and suppliment the original text. Both writers seek to recount the history with an appropriate balance of passion for the story and compassion for the complex histories of the people. This work has laid a fine foundation for further reading.

This book contains everything a modern reader who is anything but a professional Middle East scholar could ever want to know about the history of the region (especially about the Arab-Israeli conflicts). Most importantly, it is presented in a strictly factual, unemotional manner which allows the reader to understand the current problems there and to make his or her own judgments without the facts being skewed or, indeed, being portrayed in a subjective light at all. With this account under one's belt, it is impossible to see the conflicts of the Middle East in a wholly black-and-white, right-and-wrong way. Indeed, the cold facts show how all parties involved have countless reasons for their behavior, and how no one party can ever be completely blamed.Having also read what Mansfield himself considered to be his crowning achievement, "The Arabs", I actually feel that this is a superior work, at least for my purposes. "A History of the Middle East" presents a more sweeping view for the amateur (but serious) scholar, and can be used as a good reference despite being more than a decade old.Mansfield follows the region from prehistory, through the Ottoman Empire, and into the modern age, explaining events and motivations in a reasonable and straightforward manner.It must be mentioned that this is not an exciting book for those without a passionate interest in foreign affairs. But those who are driven to know and understand the goings-on of the modern world will find it an invaluable addition to their library.

Mansfield first presents a survey of history before WWI then disentangles the woof and warp of 20th century Middle East history right on up to the US "Desert Storm" Gulf War. Great for putting all the bits and pieces together that you've witnessed for the last 20 years and also for finding out how things got that way and what is behind tonight's latest from the region. Very readable.