Lords of the Desert by James Barr Sir

Lords of the Desert by James Barr Sir

A path-breaking history of how the United States superseded Great Britain as the preeminent power in the Middle East, with urgent lessons for the present day

We usually assume that Arab nationalism brought about the end of the British Empire in the Middle East -- that Gamal Abdel Nasser and other Arab leaders led popular uprisings against colonial rule that forced the overstretched British from the region.

In Lords of the Desert, historian James Barr draws on newly declassified archives to argue instead that the US was the driving force behind the British exit. Though the two nations were allies, they found themselves at odds over just about every question, from who owned Saudi Arabia's oil to who should control the Suez Canal. Encouraging and exploiting widespread opposition to the British, the US intrigued its way to power -- ultimately becoming as resented as the British had been. As Barr shows, it is impossible to understand the region today without first grappling with this little-known prehistory.

James Barr served as Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville for 10 years. Professorships at Edinburgh University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Manchester University, and Oxford University have all been part of his remarkable teaching career. He has had visiting professorships and given significant lecture series throughout Europe, the United States, Africa, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand, and served as the editor of the Journal of Semitic Studies for many years.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780465050635
ISBN 10	0465050638
Title	Lords of the Desert
Author	James Barr Sir
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Basic Books
Year published	2018-09-11
Number of pages	464
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.