Arabian adventures: Ten years of joyful service

by John Bagot Glubb

Excellent Book

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1978

About the author

Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC (a.k.a. "Glubb Pasha") was a British Army officer who was for many years seconded to the Arab Legion of the Trans-Jordan (later The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), which he ultimately commanded until dismissed by King Hussein in March 1956. He wrote many books after his retirement, primarily on the history of the Middle East and on Military History.

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must admit. Its not my favourite of Glubbs books.

It does give an interesting picture into his career in between the war and his joining the service of Trans-Jordan. He travels over much of Iraq and recounts his experiences living with the Arabs, traveling by camel, dealing with local officials, and the different types of people from the towns, the nomadic bedouin tribes, the peoples of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys. Probably the most interesting content is regarding his Desert forces participation in combat with the Ikhwan tribes in their raids into Iraq who seemed to be planning to rebel against king Al Saud of Nejd who essentially used these tribes to conquer most of the Arabian peninsula and form the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Funny what nearly could have been if the Ikhwan had overthrown the Saud family had they not had their plans derailed.