Gabriel's review
A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin
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 seemed convinced of a Jewish-consipiracy driving the actions of every other nation involved. All in all, I think this is a must read for everyone today, just for an appreciation of how the Middle East took shape and how haphazardly those events came about.
