The Arabs

THE THIRD EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER; REVISED AND UPDATED 'A rich; galloping narrative that spans the Arab world...outstanding; gripping and exuberant...full of flamboyant character sketches; witty asides and magisterial scholarship; that explains much of what we need to know about the world today' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Anyone who seeks to understand why the Islamic world bears a grudge against the West should read The Arabs' Sir Alaistair Horne Starting with the Ottoman conquests in the sixteenth century; this landmark book follows the story of the Arabs through the era of European imperialism and the Superpower rivalries of the Cold War; to the present age of unipolar American power. Drawing on the writings and eyewitness accounts of those who lived through the tumultuous years of Arab history; The Arabs balances different voices - politicians; intellectuals; students; men and women; poets and novelists; famous; infamous and the completely unknown - to give a rich; complex sense of life over nearly five centuries. Rogan's book is remarkable for its geographical sweep; covering the Arab world from North Africa through the Arabian Peninsula; and for the depth in which it explores every facet of modern Arab history. Charting the evolution of Arab identity from Ottomanism to Arabism to Islamism; it covers themes including the conflict between national independence and foreign domination; the Arab-Israeli struggle and the peace process; Abdel Nasser and the rise of Arab Nationalism; the political and economic power of oil and the conflict between secular and Islamic values. This multilayered; fascinating and definitive work is the essential guide to understanding the history of the modern Arab world - and its future.