A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East
by David Fromkin
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 352)
Read in August, 2006
David Fromkin's "A Peace to End All Peace" is a wondefully researched and well-written account that covers the political creation of the modern Middle East from the period starting during World War I and the years immediately subsequent to it. Although Fromkin tackles the project in a somewhat predictable, chronological manner, his book is supremely researched and engaging thanks in part to the book's prescient subject matter.
Fromkin intertwines the events of World War I as they s...more
Fromkin intertwines the events of World War I as they s...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
History majors
This book is dense but all-in-all worth the close read it requires. An incredibly well-researched and comprehensive look at the decision-making and implementation that went into British policy on the Middle East during World War I and immediately after. What it lacks in dazzle and readability it makes up for in impressive detail and analysis. Fromkin takes a lot of liberty in building background and it's not until 400 pages or so in that the reader is going to appreciate the payoff. Particularly...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
Right after Orientalism, I read David Fromkins’ A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East . Fascinating. This detailed work covers everything leading up to, through and right after the First World War, related to the Middle East. Fromkin is a very engaging writer. Even though the book had more historical details than I really needed, I enjoyed the whole thing.
As I read this last fall, I was amazed by the absolute disaster created by...more
As I read this last fall, I was amazed by the absolute disaster created by...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1994
Warning, this book is not for the casual reader. It's packed with plenty of info on the Middle East under the Ottoman Empire. Much attention is given to the various countries in the region and how they came to be. The Middle East as we know it today was created from the aftermath of WW1. The book also delves into the persons who had a hand in the making of the Middle East as it is today, Lord Kitchener, Sir Mark Sykes, The Young Turks, Churchill, General Alenby, Prince Feisal, King Hussein, T.E....more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
I'm not a history buff, but this account of the events surrouding WWI was riveting and eye-opening. I had never appreciated that the roots of the modern middle east reach back to this time, nor that so many of the fateful decisions made were in service to such strange misinformation or misunderstandings. Especially fascinating is the motivations of Great Britian, all in service of getting ahead in a world that would rapidly fall apart. Another amazing discussion is the way everyone involved seem...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
An amazing account of the fall of the Ottoman Empire during World War I and the subsequent carving up of the Arabian Peninsula into what we now refer to as the Middle East. This book is extremely informative and yet reads like a novel, giving a unique insight into how the Allied Powers and Central Powers viewed the region during the conflict, how the notion of Zionism was born and politized during this period, and the role of Winston Churchill, then Britain's Secretary of State. I highly recom...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Politicians
I read this for because it was on a reading list to help understand the middle east. It was a very exhaustive history of WW1 in the middle east, that I think was very interesting and I learned a lot. I did not read the final quarter because of time, it was recalled at the library. One thing I really enjoyed was how imperialistic the policies that the British and the French were. I think that they really were the current problem that led to this "A peace to end all peace". It really he...more
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Read in October, 2007
Colonialism and Nationalism in the Modern Middle East with Leila Fawaz. Excellent book on WWI. From a very British perspective (focuses on Britain's policy, fuckups, etc.) but does a great job of delineating the overwhelmingly confusing (for me at least) politics and weird imperial ambitions and the complex relationships between pretty much everyone. Slow to start, I thought, but fleshes out all the encyclopedic history of Cleveland remarkably well. Not quite done yet but as I get to the last f...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2006
I learned about the creation of the Middle East during and after WWI. Gertrude Bell, a British citizen, was commissioned to come up with the boundary lines of modern day Iraq after the war was over! She totally ignored traditional tribal areas hence lumping, Sunni, Shia and Kurds into one massive state. This book also goes into great detail about the fall of Lord Kitchener, the foolhardiness of the powers involved in the war and the destructive political decisions throughout the war that ended u...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in October, 2007
If only our leadership had read this book before Iraq, maybe we would have been better prepared for the end of the war. Clearly the allies were not ready for the end of WWI and the Mid-East has suffered for it. The allies did not understand tribal, clan, regional, religious affiliations then and we still don't. Has 1st credible explanation for why the British initially supported Jewish homeland. Surprised to learn Feisal supported the Jewish home (at first). The last third of the book is the...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
history buffs
Here we have a dense history of the creation of the modern Middle East, from the last days of the ancient Ottoman Empire pre-World War 1 and the "Great Game" that European countries played with their colonies and subjugated countries during the 1800s, two periods that were coming to an end. You won't find a history of modern Jewish/Muslim conflict but the roots of it. The prose is rather dry, your typical history book written by a history professor with an eye to detail and not ease ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2005
My very favorite book of diplomatic history; a fascinating and utterly disheartening account of how European realpolitik during an after World War I created the lasting mess that is the contemporary Middle East. John LeCarre and Graham Greene can write page-turners about the maneuverings of mid-level functionaries, but I never would have believed an historian could do it until I read Fromkin. An honest-to-God masterpiece and a book everyone with an interest in the world's current woes should r...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone interested in the modern middle-east problems
This is an excellent analysis of the origins of many of the problems in the modern middle-east. The author does seem to be a very strong advocte for the young Winston Churchill, and for this reason the book is even more interesting. But the general discussion of how Iraq was craeted and the origins of "Palistine" are fascinating.
This was actually one of my daughter's textbooks at George Washington University. It is worth a read. Be careful, it is 567 pages long!
This was actually one of my daughter's textbooks at George Washington University. It is worth a read. Be careful, it is 567 pages long!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This book is wonderful --- not a light read by any means but fascinating. The table of contents is essentially a class in the history of the Middle East and how it evolved from the Ottoman Empire.
I can only read a little at a time and read in between other books but I read some every day because the history is so interesting and so important to understand the mess that is the current Middle East.
Read this but consider it a long-term project.
I can only read a little at a time and read in between other books but I read some every day because the history is so interesting and so important to understand the mess that is the current Middle East.
Read this but consider it a long-term project.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2004
recommends it for:
anyone interested in the Middle East
For my money, the best explanation of why the Middle East is the way it is. Fromkin weaves a detailed and gripping exposition of the machinations that created the modern Middle East, giving us insight into how the seeds of conflict were sown very early on. This book is recommended for anyone interested in the Middle East, whether completely new to the region or an experienced scholar.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2004
Basically a long book about how Britain helped create chaos in the Middle East after the fall of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Lessons to learn about an imperial power's ignorance and arrogance.
Still, the book is not overly polemical. I remember it being pretty objective.
This book is an excellent foundation for further learning about the region.
Still, the book is not overly polemical. I remember it being pretty objective.
This book is an excellent foundation for further learning about the region.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This nonfiction book details the creation of the modern Middle East, carved up among the occupying British and French, after WWI. For anyone who is looking to understand the problems of today in this region of the world, this book gives a comprehensive view of the decisions made during the post-WWI period in a very readable way.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
There is probably no better popular account of this period of Middle East history. If you are at all interested in the region, this is the best book to start from - there are more comprehensive and deeper ones, and I've read quite a few, but I have yet to find one that is as well-written.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2004
recommends it for:
history buffs
Know little about the fall of the Ottoman Empire? Neither did the "great powers." A frightening depcition of the first great war and how ill-prepared all the sides were for the creating of and making of peace in its wake. Intense parrallels to a couple of current day occupations.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
So far, a big theme has been that much of the interaction between Europe and the Middle-East was driven by ignorance and bad decisions. People kept thinking they knew what was going on even when they had no idea. This goes for the middle East being drawn into WW1 as well.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
