Stewart Ross - Understand the Middle East (Since 1945) (2010)
History – 300 pages – my copy (paperback; 2010) bought for £1.99 from Plymouth Works in June 2011
- 2 nods out of 5 -
There cannot be many issues more complex than the modern history of the Middle East. Many have tried; most have failed. Yet it remains a fascinating and heartbreaking region to read and to study.
Stewart Ross completes an admirable job, putting in place a chronology of the major events in recent decades. The early half of the twentieth century, with its dominating imperial presence, is recounted, as is the creation of Israel and its resulting wars. The turmoil in Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine are documented, as are the various peace attempts, notably Camp David. The emphasis of the book lurches further east as the year approaches 1979, with the revolution in Iran, the Iran-Iraq war, and the US-UK wars against Iraq in the 1990s to the modern day. And throughout these pages are the large figures of Nasser, of Arafat and of Begin.
Perhaps the book’s charm – and this is true of the majority of the books in the Teach Yourself series – is its complete reluctance to become tangled up in these large issues. They are explained, yet rarely debated. Ross recounts the continuing imperial presence of the USA, but whether this is for good or for bad is left to the reader to decide.
Obviously intended as an introduction to the region’s events and problems, this book served its purpose in stoking further interest for the Worm. As such, readers out there could do no better with their two pound coin than purchasing a copy today.
