The Unmaking of the Middle East: A History of Western Disorder in Arab Lands [Hardcover]

Jeremy Salt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520255518 | ISBN-13: 978-0520255517 | Publication Date: July 9, 2008 | Edition: 1

Written for those who want to know more about the Middle East than the mainstream media is willing or able to tell, this book begins by examining a question that has been asked by numerous commentators since September 11, 2001: "Why do they hate us?" Jeremy Salt offers the background essential for understanding the Middle East today by chronicling the long and bloody history of Western intervention in Arab lands. In lucid detail, he examines the major events that have shaped the region--ranging from the French in Algeria and the British in Egypt in the nineteenth century to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and to the continuing war in Iraq. Linking all of these together, Salt paints a damning picture of a sustained campaign by Western powers to dominate the Middle East by whatever means necessary. Throughout, he emphasizes the human cost of the policies put in place to preserve "Western interests" or in the name of bringing civilization, democracy, or freedom to the region. Making use of extensive research in U.S. and British archives that reveals what politicians were deciding behind closed doors, and why, this is a book that will change the way we see the Middle East.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Should be mandatory reading for all Western policy makers, academics and intelligent lay public thinking about yet another invasion of any Middle Eastern state."--Cookeville Herald-Citizen

"A general history that will give newspaper readers an alternative account of the major political events in the modern Middle East."--The Historian

From the Inside Flap

"Devastating in its portrayal of the depths to which the West (France, Britain, and the US especially) sank in conquering the Middle East. Starting off with Huntington's quote about 'Islam's bloody borders,' Salt argues that it was the West that made these borders bloody, though in the process it had no trouble finding native accomplices who helped, wittingly or not."--Mehran Kamrava, author of The Modern Middle East

"This will be of much use to general readers who are ill-served by the preponderance of books in the marketplace that explain political events by recourse to stereotypical representations of 'Arabs' and 'Islam,' while neglecting important historical events that define current political and social reality in the region. None of the general history books on the Middle East offer comparable comprehensive details."--Joseph A. Massad, author of Desiring Arabs

"This excellent book is comprehensive in scope, scholarly and yet highly readable. Focusing on the damaging role of western policy in the Middle East, well exemplified in the current debacle in Iraq. It will be essential reading for students and historians of the region."--Ghada Karmi, author of Married to Another Man: Israel's Dilemma in Palestine

"Salt makes it abundantly clear that when it comes to the Middle East, 'the West' talks idealistically and acts brutally. This excellent book should be required reading for future American policymakers thinking about invading another Arab or Islamic country."--John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 484 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (July 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520255518
• ISBN-13: 978-0520255517
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,175,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good...but a little slanted, February 12, 2009

By 

Sam "Arabic Student" (Cairo) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unmaking of the Middle East: A History of Western Disorder in Arab Lands (Hardcover)

This is a well researched review of Western foreign policy in the Middle East from a perspective that does not receive much exposure in the Western media. Mr. Salt's analysis, however, is at times overly cynical concerning Western intentions in the region, as it often paints policy mistakes and misperceptions as the result of crass malevolence and greed, rather than an often misguided struggle to protect vital interests abroad. Still, this book is well worth the time and effort if one wants to form a dynamic understanding of the region. Just take it with a grain of salt.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this Book and an Opposing One as Well, March 17, 2011

By 

M. R. (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unmaking of the Middle East: A History of Western Disorder in Arab Lands (Paperback)

Salt sets out in his book to examine the role of the West in making the Middle East the way that it is today. Of course, hundreds of volumes have been written about this subject, and any reader entering into this book should not expect a comprehensive history. This book does not offer the full narrative but instead focuses on a few key issues, namely, the breakup of the Ottoman Empire after WWI, the birth of Israel, and Western Policy toward Iraq. Salt's strength is the depth with which he probes these stories, if not the scope of the stories themselves.

Salt's research is heavily footnoted. He utilizes many primary sources, although to be fair, some of them are memoires, which makes them less reliable than others. (For example, he quotes many policymakers through the memoirs of their assistants that were written years after the fact.) It is obvious that Salt is a scholar who has done his homework.

With regards to the bias of the book, the reader will be aware of it from the first few pages. Salt is clearly making a point about the negative influence of the West. Therefore, most of the book contains anecdotes that vilify Western policymakers and vindicate Arab and even more so Turkish policymakers. (Salt lives and writes in Turkey.) Is the book anti-Western and anti-Israeli? It certainly shows the dark splotches those nations have left on history. But at the same time, if the anecdotes he tells are true, they are extremely significant and should give us westerners pause. The book does not present a balanced view of both sides, but in my opinion, if the reader is willing to read this book and then follow it up with another from the opposing viewpoint, he or she will gain a much better understanding of the region.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough but concise history of Western interference in the ME, November 7, 2008

By 

Sinan (Westborough, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unmaking of the Middle East: A History of Western Disorder in Arab Lands (Hardcover)

One of the best books I have read on the West's role in the Middle East.