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nataalia_sanchez's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
rossbm's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
4.25
Good history the Arabs since the Ottoman conquest of the Mamluks in 1517. Thought it would start early with Muslim conquests, but given how long book was, good thing it didn't. Feel like I have a better understanding of Palenstine-Israel conflict now, along with why Middle East is so volatile.
nelsta's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fantastic. It is, undoubtedly, the best (non-textbook) single-volume history of the modern Middle East I've ever read. The author kept the material engaging, informative, and relevant. He deftly strung the histories of different nationalities, cultures, and religious persuasions together into a cohesive story that made sense as it progressed chronologically.
Despite the book's title, this book began in the Ottoman era. For those of you more unfamiliar with the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire was not ruled by Arabs, but by Turks. It's an important difference. There should have been some indication that this was a modern history and not a total history as the title implies, but it wasn't a deal-breaker for me.
The story kicked off with an over-arching history of the Ottoman Empire. I eventually came to understand that Rogan was describing Ottoman rule so that we could understand why the Arabs developed as they did. And truthfully, the Arab story cannot be told without understanding the Ottoman Empire, so it makes sense. After describing the fall of the Ottomans and the never-ending European interference in the region, Rogan went on to recount the histories of the various Arab nations in the Middle East and North Africa. I especially enjoyed learning about Algeria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt. He concluded the book with a slightly outdated, but still relevant, history of Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and the Arab Spring.
This book is absolutely worth the price of admission. It is a fantastic primer. If you want to understand modern Arab politics, religious issues, etc, this is the perfect place to start. Reading it would probably be a bit dry for the casual reader, but listening to it on Audible solved that problem easily. I fell back in love with the Middle East all over again while listening to this book.
Despite the book's title, this book began in the Ottoman era. For those of you more unfamiliar with the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire was not ruled by Arabs, but by Turks. It's an important difference. There should have been some indication that this was a modern history and not a total history as the title implies, but it wasn't a deal-breaker for me.
The story kicked off with an over-arching history of the Ottoman Empire. I eventually came to understand that Rogan was describing Ottoman rule so that we could understand why the Arabs developed as they did. And truthfully, the Arab story cannot be told without understanding the Ottoman Empire, so it makes sense. After describing the fall of the Ottomans and the never-ending European interference in the region, Rogan went on to recount the histories of the various Arab nations in the Middle East and North Africa. I especially enjoyed learning about Algeria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt. He concluded the book with a slightly outdated, but still relevant, history of Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and the Arab Spring.
This book is absolutely worth the price of admission. It is a fantastic primer. If you want to understand modern Arab politics, religious issues, etc, this is the perfect place to start. Reading it would probably be a bit dry for the casual reader, but listening to it on Audible solved that problem easily. I fell back in love with the Middle East all over again while listening to this book.
cstack's review against another edition
4.0
Very detailed history of Arab countries (e.g. Egypt, Syria, Iraq, etc). The general takeaway I got is that Arabs have been subject to imperialism and foreign influence for a long time. The tone was a little too dense for me: too many names and dates. Especially since I listened to it on audiobook with a monotone narrator.