
A History of the Middle East
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Narrated by:
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Richard Brown
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By:
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Peter Mansfield
About this listen
In this masterly work of synthesis, Peter Mansfield, drawing on his experience as a journalist and a historian, explores two centuries of history in the Middle East. He forms a picture of the historical, political, and social history of the meeting point of Occident and Orient, from Bonaparte's marauding invasion of Egypt to the start of the Gulf War. For more than four thousand years, the Middle East has provided a setting for titanic struggles between great civilizations and religions. In this century it became the focus of rivalry between the European powers as the last major Islamic empire of the Ottoman Turks crumbled and collapsed. The discovery of the world's greatest oil reserves gave the region global economic importance as well as a unique strategic value. The foundation of a national state by immigrant Zionist Jews created one of the most insoluble political problems of our era, which is compounded by the reassertion of Islamic consciousness among the great majority of the region's inhabitants. In two penetrating final chapters, Peter Mansfield discusses Saddam Hussein and the prospects for the future.
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A History of The Middle East
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The stories are well told, I was entertained and informed, what more can I ask?
In Depth, Even Handed Treatment
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Overall, a worth while and key addition to the library of any honest historian.
Important, accurate, and reasonably unbiased.
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Not an introduction
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am i the only one who liked this?
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Would you try another book from Peter Mansfield and/or Richard Brown?
No.What was most disappointing about Peter Mansfield’s story?
Just plain dry.Would you be willing to try another one of Richard Brown’s performances?
No. Dear god, no. Nononononono. Where did they find this guy, the basement of the history department at Oxford, falling asleep into his Earl Grey?If this book were a movie would you go see it?
They'd never find a producer that stupid.Any additional comments?
I mean, it's a great summary of the history of the region, but the text is about as dry as you can get, and, as I said, this narrator is pretty much every stereotypical boring professor you've seen in a movie and then some. I didn't even know there were still people alive who spoke like this guy.Great for insomnia . . . and nothing else.
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The sound quality isn't high but I had no trouble understanding it. I had zero problems with the narrator's accent, he speaks well and clearly. The important part - the information - is great stuff. I know a lot more about the M.E. now than I did before, and that was my goal. It doesn't seem excessively biased to me at all. The western world, and later the Israelis, have been a domineering, bullying force in the M.E. for centuries. No surprise there, right? Mansfield doesn't paint western powers as the bad guys, just as the guys with the big stick. How is that inaccurate?
Good stuff, what's with all the bad reviews?
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Dry but worth the effort
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Ends in 1990 (First Edition)
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