The Arabs (Penguin History) [Paperback]

Peter Mansfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1992 | Series: Penguin History

Drawing on his experiences as historian and journalist in the Middle East, Peter Mansfield explores social, political and historical aspects - from the pre-Islamic nomads of Arabia, the life of Muhammad and the rise of Arab power that followed to the Western colonial period, to the tragedy of Palestine and the modern Arab renaissance, reinforced by the power of oil. He shows that the consequences of centuries of struggle for dominance between Christendom and the Islamic world survive to this day in various forms. Bringing events into the 1990s, he explores the causes and consequences of the Gulf War, the continuing conflict over Palestine and the difference in attitude between Arab liberals and fundamentalists as to the future outlook of the Arab world. A section of the book surveys each individual Arab state. The final section considers the Arabs themselves, their characteristics, aspirations and future.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 3rd edition (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140147683
• ISBN-13: 978-0140147681
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,493,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A definitive but digestible history, January 11, 2000

By 

Nigel Parry (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Arabs (Penguin History) (Paperback)

I had the opportunity to meet Peter Mansfield a few times when I worked in London between 1993 and 1994, a softly-spoken and dignified man who had made it his life's work to learn about and understand the Arab World and its relationship with the colonial powers.

Sadly, Mansfield has since passed away, but this book remains as a beautiful epitaph that is as close to a definitive but digestible history of the Arab people as I've read.

Recommended for those who want to understand the big picture before getting into the detail of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book, September 14, 2000

By 

Gary Malone (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Arabs (Penguin History) (Paperback)

If you're looking for a compact but detailed history and description of the Arab world, it's difficult to imagine a book that can top this one. I picked it off the shelf thinking it would be just another dull chronology - but when I examined its layout, I just had to have it. It consists of three sections: a detailed and highly readable 300-page history of the Arab world; a set of brief chapters on each Arab country; and a final short section on how the Arabs are viewed by both themselves and Westerners.

The ability to pick a single country to read about individually is the aspect of the book that most stands out for me: I was really interested in reading about just five or six Arab countries, and I wasn't about to buy a book on each of them. This book solved the problem brilliantly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent History of Arabs up to '80s, March 4, 2009

By 

History Reader (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Arabs (Penguin History) (Paperback)

This is an excellent review of Arab and Middle Eastern history up to the 1980s. (It was originally published in he 1970s, with a second, updated edition about 1986.) It fills in the gaps for those of us who have only been paying attention to that part of the world for the last decade or so. It also makes clear the tensions between the different ethnic groups in the Middle East, particularly between the Arabs and the Turks.