#274 The Arabs: A History (2009)

Author: Eugene Rogan
Title: The Arabs: A History
Genre: History
Year: 2009
Pages: 650
Origin: bought from Waterstones many moons ago
Nod Rating: 4 nods out of 5

 

Book buyers will all know the problem which is encountered from time to time: the book sale. In this instance, the Worm snapped up Eugene Rogan’s history The Arabs whilst greedily engaging in a 3 for 2 offer in Waterstones. However, the book was placed on the “To Read” pile and was promptly forgotten about. Months passed by, soon becoming years, and Rogan’s history gathered dust and yellowed pages. That was until the Worm’s hand, like a beaming light of power, plucked it from the pile and dusted it off for a read.

The Arabs: A History is an ambitious study, charting Arab culture and society across the past five hundred years. It begins with the fighting Mamluks of the early sixteenth century before ending in the turmoil in the Middle East in the early twenty-first century. Heavy concentration is given to the past two hundred years, including the rule of Muhammad Ali in Egypt, and more notably in the twentieth century. This covers the hold over the people by foreign empires – the British and French – and their replacement by a new kind of world politics: the Cold War. The period 1950 to 1990 is given high priority, with Rogan describing and analysing the rise of Arab nationalism and the new importance of oil and how it has shaped their relations with the western world.

Such a task – of charting a history both rich and divisive – seems a tall one to accomplish. However, throughout the read Rogan is an able pair of hands, guiding the reader through the tough differences and the shocking lows. A key feature of the narrative is the meddling of foreign hands into the affairs of the Arabs, including the Ottoman Turks and the western powers. The foundation of the Israeli state, by the power of these western powers, has created a smouldering sore in the region for the past seventy years. The legacy of this is clearly seen today, with the region of the Middle East and northern Africa in turmoil.

More so than a history of any other peoples on this planet, no history of the Middle East can definitely end. The scant five years since the publishing of Rogan’s book have seen the Arab Spring and several revolutions, altering the balance within the region and putting into question the future ahead.

However, such events cannot dismiss the high standard of work: painstaking research and a wonderful ability to write engaging prose. All of which gains Rogan’s book a positive 4 nods. Its failing is in its balance of material; can any history be definitive by neglecting the previous century of history before the sixteenth century? The Worm believes the answer is a firm “no”. But he urges anyone with an interest in the Middle East to pick up a book and dive right in.

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