The Shaping of the Modern Middle East (2 Rev ed)

With this major revision of his work "The Middle East and the West" (1964), a leading Middle East historian offers a detailed history of Western-Middle Eastern relations from the late 17th century to the present day.

Fully revised to cover the volatile developments of the last three decades, it sheds light on the climax and sudden end of the Cold War, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Arab-Israeli wars, the formation and activities of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the Persian Gulf War, and the Iranian revolution.

Illuminating the region's geography, culture, history, language, and religion, the author explores the complex and often confusing issues of Arab nationalism, Islamic fundamentalism, and responses and reactions in the Middle East to centuries of Western influence, revealing the subtlety and sophistication of this dynamic civilization.