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James Barr’s Followers (222)
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James Barr
Goodreads Author
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Member Since
April 2013
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“The wrangling between Britain and the Free French throughout the war years had a further, far-reaching consequence when de Gaulle returned to power in 1958. As president of France it was he who infamously vetoed Harold Macmillan’s application to join the Common Market. In tracing exactly why de Gaulle said Non, it is, surprisingly, to the hot and noisy cities of Beirut and Damascus that we should look. The general’s experience of British machinations in both places profoundly shaped his reluctance to allow his wartime rivals to join his European club. It is a tale from which neither country emerges with much credit.”
― A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the struggle that shaped the Middle East
― A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the struggle that shaped the Middle East
“It was the struggle between Britain and France for the mastery of the Middle East that led the two countries to carve up the Ottoman Empire with the Sykes-Picot agreement, and it was their dissatisfaction over the outcome of this deal that led the British, fatefully, to proclaim their support for Zionist ambitions in the Balfour Declaration. And so the Jews’ right to a country of their own became dangerously associated with a cynical imperial maneuver that was originally designed to outwit the French.”
― A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914-1948
― A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914-1948
“When Husni Zaim seized power from Shukri al-Quwatli on 30 March 1949, Syria's economy was a parlous state and its army had been beaten the previous November by the Israelis. Zaim knew that he needed to take action on both fronts fast. After overthrowing al-Quwatli bloodlessly, he set out to open peace talks with the Israelis and mend relations with the French via a currency agreement and an arms deal that would pave the way for renewed French influence in the former mandate. But Zaim's reign did not last long. One hundred and thirty-seven days after he had taken power, on 14 August he too was overthrown and executed.”
― A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle that Shaped the Middle East
― A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle that Shaped the Middle East
Topics Mentioning This Author
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The History Book ...: JEROME'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2016 | 251 | 228 | Jan 01, 2017 08:46AM | |
| Reading the 20th ...: Group Reads -> June 2021 -> Nomination thread (Post-Colonialism won by The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen) | 36 | 36 | Mar 27, 2021 07:54AM | |
| The History Book ...: * MIDDLE EASTERN THEATER: (CAUCASUS - MESOPOTAMIA - SINAI AND PALESTINE - GALLIPOLI - PERSIA) | 83 | 401 | Jul 20, 2025 05:41AM | |
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