A Peace to End All Peace covers the events leading up to what Fromkin calls the "Settlement of 1922," when the political boundaries and institutions that were to predominate in the Middle East for most of the next century took shape. The book details the many factors involved, such as the rise of Zionism, the exaggerated sense of importance to the war effort of both Jews and Arabs that predominated in Europe, and the personal ambitions of the many actors on the stage, from Winston Churchill to Sherif Hussein, that led to these fateful outcomes.
Fromkin argues in this book that the modern Middle East was created in large part by the actions of a few European countries during the crucial years of 1914 to 1922. Although the book's account ends in 1922 and Fromkin does not even mention the current problems in the Middle East, the implication is that the establishment of arbitrary boundaries for Arab states, the creation of the state of Israel, and the aggravation of hostile sentiments that resulted from cynical political maneuvers on the part of European states to a great degree precipitated the current crises. Indeed, the book jacket declares that "Fromkin shows how the choices narrowed and the Middle East began along a road that led to the endless wars and the escalating acts of terrorism that continue to this day."
The main text of A Peace to End All Peace is over 500 pages long, dealing in painstaking detail with the events that led up to the treaties that ended the First World War. It is in some senses a work of journalism, offering a sort of objective play-by-play of events without a great deal of analysis. The benefit of this approach is that the author's biases do not often come through, and the reader is left to draw his or her own conclusions regarding the causes of events. The drawback is that the reader cannot easily draw any general inferences which are necessary for understanding the topic as a whole. In addition, by concentrating so much on details to the exclusion of general trends, Fromkin does not always make it clear whether a certain event was merely the result of a series of accidents, or whether it was bound to occur in any case. Again, this is partly a result of his predilection for a character-driven narrative.
The narrative is very well-written, engaging and easy to follow. It is accessible, not assuming a great deal of familiarity of the subject material (the maps at the beginning of the book are invaluable), and logically organized, following events chronologically within a larger thematic structure. Particularly helpful is the way Fromkin will parenthetically re-introduce a person that we have met earlier, rather than expecting the reader to remember the dozens of characters that weave in and out of the narrative. The characters are given depth and motivation, without erring into presumptive amateur psychoanalysis or pseudo-historical "reconstructed" dialogue.
Events are related primarily from the British (and particularly Churchill's) perspective, which is somewhat puzzling given the fact that most of the important events actually occurred in the Middle East, and that the roles in these events of Russia and France were nearly as important as Britain's. The book is well-researched and copiously documented, relying on a balance of primary and secondary sources, but most of the these are British in origin and outlook. As mentioned earlier, the book also relies strongly on accounts of the actions and beliefs of certain key individuals (again, mostly British), as opposed to broader movements.
As there is little analysis in the book, there is not much room for controversy. Occasionally Fromkin will mention alternative versions of events, but the variances are generally tangential to the main narrative. He is painstakingly objective for the most part (although one can sense some sympathy in his viewpoint for the objectives of Zionism). I suspect that this book will hold up well over time, in part because Fromkin focuses so closely on the individuals in the story whose experiences resonate universally, rather than adopting a broader outlook that would reveal more of the prejudices of our time.
This is overall an excellent book, and certainly invaluable for understanding current events in the Middle East. Upon finishing it, one is left wishing for a broader account of the background of some of the movements and forces that are presented fully formed in Fromkin's narrative, but that is as much an endorsement as a criticism: A 500 page book that leaves one wanting more is a rarity.
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Top reviews from other countries
- marsha l. reidReviewed in Canada on September 15, 2016
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