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Summary:
Newly revised and updated to explain events that have occurred since the American occupation of Iraq, the second edition of The Modern Middle East: A History explores how the forces associated with global modernity have shaped the social, economic, cultural, and political life in the region over the course of the past 500 years. Beginning with the first glimmerings of the current international state and economic systems in the sixteenth century, this book examines 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.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Excellent Analyses
Customer Rating:
Also it is condensed in its analytical approach, this books remains a major source of reference on the modern aspects of the Middle East; including all the political ramifications and socio-political metamorphoses. Rich in data, analogies and findings. Highly recommended. A great book.
An ambitious endeavor with a ton of information; a great start in learning about the Middle East
Customer Rating:
Gelvin's history of the modern Middle East is a great start for someone who wants to become more acquainted with the region. It gives an adequate amount of background information, comes complete with useful primary documents, and presents good critical analyses of the historical events it discusses. It mostly covers the former lands of the Ottoman Empire and Iran--nothing about the central Asian countries further East like Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, or Pakistan, etc. It's one of those books that you should read cover to cover because its organization does not render it a useful reference book even with the index. It definitely gave me a great grasp of the region broadly, and can help you decide your interests should you want to delve into one subject more in depth. After all, it's a pretty short book that strives to convey a lot of information about a lot of countries over a long period of time (19th and 20th centuries mostly). A good starter book but it may be a little too broad for someone who already is knowledgable about the subject.
Excellent history - a joy to read
Customer Rating:
Gelvin writes a concise, clear history of the Muslims world (that is, mostly the middle-east). He writes in an enjoyable fashion - being true to historical objectivity, yet throwing in personal analysis when appropriate. What makes this book even better is that it was written in 2005 and could thus position itself within a post-9/11 world. Overall, Gelvin's history is not only rich, but entertaining to read. Perfect for a student whose brain might be frazzled by semesters of reading.
The Modern Middle East: A History
Customer Rating:
As someone who is not privy to facts about the history of the Middle East, this was a useful segway into gaining a lot of basic knowledge. There are elements that are less detailed, however, but as I said...it is a good start for beginners. All in all I enjoyed very much.
One of the best introductions out there...
Customer Rating:
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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