Thousand Year War in the Mideast: How It Affects You Today

Best historical perspective on the insider/outsider and local/foreign tensions in the Middle East. The approach given by Maybury will clear up questions you may have about imperialism and political domination as they are attributed to western powers--there have been massacres and despots and wicked abuses of power in the Middle East since the beginning of time. There are no simple resolutions to the conflicts of today, so at least attempt to understand why and how the conflicts continue to simmer until they occasionally break out in open war. Please read it! For reviews of similar books, see also the resource pages at civilsociety at seedwiki. Thanks, Richard, for this great book. Write more!

This book is not the best way to learn about the history of the Middle East. Not if one wishes to learn in detail of what has happened and when. However, if one wanted to learn the why of these events, this book is invaluable. It provides a simple clear cut reason for a conflict that has been going on for more than a millenium and to which, even today, no end seems in sight. Continuing in his favourite style of writing letters to his nephew, Chris, Richard Maybury applies the operation of his two basic laws on events that have shaped, and are still shaping the history of Europe over the last thousand years. The two basic laws read as follows: 1) Do all you have agreed to do: 2) Do not encroach on another's property. Evidently, they are based on the equality of all human beings and oppose the use of force to wrest anything from anyone. As history is replete with power play, especially where emperors, kings and eventually governments are concerned, it is not difficult to see how the wanton abuse of these two laws, backfire on those authorities and organizations who do not adhere to them. In this book, Maybury begins by analyzing the Crusades, (Christian aggressors to the Holy Land, which was not their own and which they wanted to take by force), goes on to examining the authority of the Church, and finally ends up with a bird's eye view of European politics that led to World War I. Application of his logic on these diverse, seemingly unrelated events, makes their outcome almost self evident. Richard Maybury also speculates on the connection between the thousand year old animosity between the Western World (symbolized by America) and the Islamic World (represented by the Arab countries), leading onto the terrorist attack on Sept.11, 2001 (this is added later as the book was originally written in 1999). He shows clearly the role of the Allies (mainly Great Britain and France) as the aggressor in the conflict and how this role has been taken over in later years by the United States of America, a country which was created in order to preserve this very freedom. And especially, how the role of 'global policeman' adopted by America is accepted by the Rest of the World and officially justified in the name of ' protecting American interests'. Each one of Richard Maybury's books is a fast read and this one is no exception. Maybury's strength lies in his crystal clear clear logic, and his total fearlesness in confronting contentious, emotional issues. Highly reccommended if only to stretch your minds to see a greater picture than the one given out by the authorities-that-be.

Richard Maybury is a very rare bird. He can take a complex subject, such as why the US government is engaged in a war with radical Islam, and explain its root causes in simple, truthful terms. He is a tough, hardheaded, fearless thinker who is unafraid to go past the facile explanations of the mainstream press and seek out the deeper causes of socio-political phenomena. Maybury relies on science, reason, and a penetrating study of history for his explanations. He is also an ex-military man with an astonishing grasp of military history and the current level of effectiveness of US armed forcesFor instance, his analysis begins in the 8th century with the founding of Islam. He explains why the devastation visited upon the Islamic world by the European Crusades and the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan in the 11th-13th centuries still exert a powerful influence on the peoples of the MidEast. He also clearly identifies the theoretical basis of his reasoning, i.e., Austrian (free market) economics and the natural or "scientific" jurisprudence that underlies the evolutionary development of Common Law, the basis of American freedom. I was stunned by his ability to extract from his studies the two basic laws (stated in short, simple sentences) upon which every successful civilization is and has been based. He explains in another book how America's success derives from the founders' understanding of these two laws. He writes that he has never found anyone who disagrees with the rightness of these two laws...although the current American political state massively violates both every day. In the context of this book, he shows how the US government's intervention in Middle Eastern affairs tramples on the two laws that, ironically, have always been the source of American freedom and prosperity. I have read most of the deeper academic works of the Austrian school and am well-read on American/European history. I have also applied myself assiduously to understand the current conflict and its probable outcome. However, until I read Maybury's clear, concise book, I honestly did not understand what was going on. Maybury has given me the tools I was seeking to grasp the nature of the current conflict. For instance, he not only predicted that something like 9/11/2001 would happen years before it did, but also why it was bound to happen. He also predicts that unless the US gov't withdraws from the MidEast and apologizes for over 50 years of murderous meddling in the afffairs of the Islamic world, we will face far worse consequences. Maybury is also honest about the limitations of his ability to predict. He lays out the principles upon which he bases his projections in straightforward terms so you can judge his conclusions for yourself. Maybury uses simple examples to explain why he thinks the way he does. Eg, he asks how we would feel if the Iranian navy were permanently deployed in Chesapeake Bay. He further states obvious truths that the mainstream some

Have you ever wondered why the people of the Middle East and Asia have such a hatred of America? The Thousand Year War explains, in lucid detail, why America is considered evil by so many people in the world. This book takes easy steps through the last thousand years tying the past to the present, and tying the Crusades to September 11. This book is an absolute must for anyone wishing to understand the world we presently live in.

I found this book in a quest to find a fairly impartial discussion on the war in the Middle East. Over the years I have read about what ever was the current headline of the day but I had no appreciation for the intricacies and the longevity of the issues that have kept this part of the world at war for over a thousand years. Being born on American soil, a nation that is in its infancy by comparison to so much of the rest of the world, I had no context in which to even begin to understand what has fueled the fires of war and hatred for so many generations. I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon Richard Maybury's book. Instead of being put off by what seemed like a student textbook approach I was appreciative of his assumption that the reader knew almost nothing about the history and geography of this part of the world. Armed with a map and paper to make notes I tackled this book. Maybury uses a ptolomeic style of writing that is reassuring for the reader but the information is so complex that I found myself having to re-read sections and go back and refer to earlier sections of the book. This is not meant to discourage. I think Maybury did an incredible job of tackling such weighty subject matter. Basically I came away believing with much conviction that America has no business being involved in the Middle East. Our involvement speaks to our arrogance as a country and our selfishness as a nation of consumers who upon finding our own oil reserves dwindling have jumped into the fray to try to gain control over as much oil as we can grab with both fists. Being a big fan of Daniel Quinn I was struck by Maybury's comments that our fears that the Middle East will not sell its oil to America do not justify our involvement because, after all, those people cannot 'eat' oil.I highly recommend this book. Give yourself the opportunity to read something unbiased by your newspaper's editorial board, politicians, your newstation, talk radio host or TV personality. Think for yourself!