Empire of Sand by Walter Reid
At the end of the First World War Britain and to a much lesser extent France created the modern Middle East. The possessions of the former Ottoman Empire were carved up with scant regard for the wishes of those who lived there. Frontiers were devised and alien dynasties imposed on the populations as arbitrarily as in medieval times. From the outset the project was destined to failure. Conflicting and ambiguous promises had been made to the Arabs during the war but were not honoured. Brief hopes for Arab unity were dashed, and a harsh belief in western perfidy persists to the present day. Britain was quick to see the riches promised by the black pools of oil that lay on the ground around Baghdad. When France too grasped their importance, bitter differences opened up and the area became the focus of a return to traditional enmity. The war-time allies came close to blows and then drifted apart, leaving a vacuum of which Hitler took advantage. Working from both primary and secondary sources, Walter Reid explores Britain's role in the creation of the modern Middle East and the rise of Zionism from the early years of the twentieth century to 1948, when Britain handed over Palestine to UN control. From the decisions that Britain made has flowed much of the instability of the region and of the world-wide tensions that threaten the twenty-first century. How far was Britain to blame?'[Reid] is judicious; his very capable prose just begs to be read'
-- Michael Nye * The Scotsman *'Extremely well written and enjoyable to read'
* European Review of History *'Structured in an accessible and intelligent way [..] Empire of Sand is a useful, meticulously written introduction to a complex history, of direct relevance to our own times'
* Journal of Israeli Foreign Affairs *'[An] impeccably researched book'
* The Herald *Walter Reid studied at the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh and is the author of a number of acclaimed biographies and books of military and political history. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781843410539 |
| ISBN 10 | 1843410532 |
| Title | Empire of Sand |
| Author | Walter Reid |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Birlinn General |
| Year published | 2011-08-15 |
| Number of pages | 416 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |