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The Modern Middle East: A History [Paperback]

James L. Gelvin (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)


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The Modern Middle East: A History The Modern Middle East: A History 4.5 out of 5 stars (10)
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Book Description

0195167899 978-0195167894 August 5, 2004
In the wake of 11 September 2001, there has been much talk about the inevitable clash between "East" and "West." This book presents an alternative approach to understanding the genealogy of contemporary events. By taking students and the general reader on a guided tour of the past five hundred years of Middle Eastern history, this book examines how the very forces associated with global "modernity" have shaped social, economic, cultural, and political life in the region. Beginning with the first glimmerings of the current international state and economic systems in the sixteenth century, The Modern Middle East: A History explores the impact of imperial and imperialist legacies, the great nineteenth-century transformation, cultural continuities and upheavals, international diplomacy, economic booms and busts, the emergence of authoritarian regimes, and the current challenges to those regimes on everyday life in an area of vital concern to us all.
Engagingly written, drawing from the author's own research and other studies, and stocked with maps and photographs, original documents and an abundance of supplementary materials, The Modern Middle East: A History will provide both novices and specialists with fresh insights into the events that have shaped history and the debates about them that have absorbed historians.

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Editorial Reviews

Review


"An important and much needed conceptual approach to the modern history of the Middle East."--Edmund "Terry" Burke III, University of California, Santa Cruz


"Excellent history text....clearly surpasses other texts I've used. Well organized, comprehensive, yet readable for undergraduates; wonderful illustrations and side-bar comments and good choice of documents."--Robert Kramer, St. Norbert College


About the Author

James Gelvin is at University of California at Los Angeles.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 5, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195167899
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195167894
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Average Customer Review
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best introductions out there..., October 12, 2005
This review is from: The Modern Middle East: A History (Paperback)
It is hard to overstate the value of this relatively short introduction to Middle Eastern history. Rather than attempting a traditional narrative, Gelvin's history emphasizes ways of conceptualizing Middle Eastern history, allowing readers to see, for example, the Constitutional Revolution in Iran and the the Young Turk Revolution in the Ottoman Empire, as part of the same general process. This makes Gelvin's work unusually valuable for readers with some basic knowledge of the Middle East while helping newbies to understand the basic outlines of Modern Middle Eastern History without getting lost in a sea of names and dates. Gelvin is one of the brightest and most original thinkers in Middle Eastern studies today and, even when one disagrees with him, there is an intellectual verve here that is sure to engage.

The weakness to Gelvin's thematic approach is that readers with limited background may sometimes feel the need to remind themselves of basic facts. If the glossary, timeline, and biographical sketches at the end of the book do not suffice for this, William L. Cleveland's A History of the Modern Middle East would make an excellent companion volume.
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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, insightful, witty..., January 25, 2005
By 
- "Robert K." (California, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Modern Middle East: A History (Paperback)
This book is great not only for those who are well-versed in the history of the Middle East, but also those who are interested in the subject but lack an extensive knowledge of it (i.e. those who became genuinely curious only after 9/11).

This book places events in the history of the modern Middle East in the greater context of world history and world events which were happening at the same time. Looking back at the book, it's now difficult for me to understand why all historians wouldn't do the same thing.

And while the author is obviously an expert in the field and has done a great deal of research and analysis, it's also clear from his style of writing that he is a teacher- it's written in such a way as to help the reader understand: organized, very interesting, rational, backed up by facts, humorous at times, etc..., as opposed to many other books on the Mid-East that simply don't flow, and are based more on speculation and bias than they are on fact.

Also, it's a pleasure to read- lots of great stories are included- and in fact, if you tend not to be interested in history books, the stories alone (separate from the text of the book and therefore easy to find) make this book worth picking up; the kind of stories that leave you thinking, "You've got to be kidding me!"

Finally, I think it's worth mentioning that the chapter on nationalism is absolutely groundbreaking, at the very least (*Note to students of the history of any part of the world: read this chapter. It will forever change the way you study history.)

I give this book five stars all the way...highly recommended to all.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable History, October 6, 2005
This review is from: The Modern Middle East: A History (Paperback)
I have taken many classes on the Middle East and have had to read many books about it as well. This is the only truly enjoyable history book I have used. Not only is it understandable and easy to read, but the author's side comments and jokes make it really enjoyable. Because of this book, I am finally comprehending much more of the modern period within the Middle East.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
This book is about the modern Middle East. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
defensive developmentalism, defensive developmentalists, developmentalist ethos, mainstream nationalist movement, jahili society, oil revolution, developmentalist policies, modern world economy, constitutionalist movements, modern public sphere, entente powers, gunpowder weapons, mandates system, centralized economic planning
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ottoman Empire, United States, Reza Shah, Mehmet Ali, Mustafa Kemal, Iranian Revolution, Saudi Arabia, Soviet Union, New York, North Africa, University of California Press, Great Britain, Suez Canal, The Collection of Wolf-Dieter Lemke, Free Officers, Wasif Jawhariyyeh, League of Nations, Malkom Khan, Mount Lebanon, New World, North America, Roman Empire, United Nations, Sublime Porte, Western Europe
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