Written by Bernard Lewis
Once again, it does exactly what it says on the tin. The emminent Princetown historian has written a magnificently concise, entertaining, fascinating, and READABLE history of the region, compacting an enormous amoutn of storytelling, geography, cultural & economic analysis into a single, satisfying book.
My only visceral complaint lies in the final third of the book. The first section covers the historical progress of the region, from pre-Islamic times to the 16th century, followed by a second section documenting specific overviews of political hierarchy, economic and cultural differences in the region. It’s a huge swath of information, cut down, ginsu-style, into a managable whole that is both informative and satisfying…
…but this doesn’t quite extend to the final section, dealing with the Middle East from the 18th century to the present day. If anything, this period is as fraught, fascinating, terrifying, and compelling as the medieval history of the region…but it’s given remarkably short shrift, by comparison to the earlier section of the book. One has the impression that the author either lost interest, or his stamina gave out as he approached the conclusion. I simply wanted MORE…and I didn’t get it.
THE MIDDLE EAST is nowhere near the disappointment of Children of the Revolution. It’s only failing is that its conclusion doesn’t live up to its earlier promise…which is disappointing to a reader such as myself, suddenly binging on huge works of history and historiography. All that said, it remains a recommended go to reference work on the region, especially pre-1700.
