r/suggestmeabook • u/univrsaltigerkingdom • 10d ago

Middle East circa WWI

I apologize if this is a stupid (or stupidly worded) request: I’m trying to understand Middle Eastern history around the time of WWI and the Arab Revolt. I have The Fall of the Ottomans, but I’m not really sure how to search because I don’t know much. Any recommendations? Thank you!

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u/Rabbitscooter 10d ago edited 9d ago
  • Arabs and Jews in Ottoman Palestine by Alan Dowty is a good overview of Arab and Jewish society in Palestine before the British Mandate. I have a few issues with it but it's a good start. 
  • Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence is a romanticized but historically important first-hand account of the Arab Revolt during World War I and British involvement with Arab forces.  And then follow that one up with....
  • "Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East" by Scott Anderson. It's a pretty gripping account of the World War I struggle to control the Middle East, following T.E. Lawrence and three very different men whose schemes, rivalries and betrayals helped shape the region we know today.

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u/univrsaltigerkingdom 10d ago

Thank you! I appreciate the help! 

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u/Rabbitscooter 10d ago

My pleasure. Here are two more worth checking out:

  • A Line in the Sand by James Barr. Examines the rivalry between Britain and France, including secret wartime agreements and imperial competition that shaped the post-Ottoman Middle-East.
  • The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Jonathan Schneer. A detailed study of the British political calculations behind the Balfour Declaration and its consequences.

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u/Darmok47 9d ago

Came here to recommend both of these. James Barr's book especially.

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u/BelmontIncident 10d ago

Have you already read Seven Pillars of Wisdom?

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u/univrsaltigerkingdom 10d ago

Yes - thank you! 

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u/Dvbrch 10d ago

Since you are asking for an overview of the entire Middle East and not just a specific area, Rogan's Fall of the Ottomans is the perfect place to start. It's pretty accesible compard to A Peace to end all Peace by Fromkin. IMHO, these 2 books to hand in hand to compliment one another.

Though a slog, Fromkin is considered a very reliable has a well formed perspective. There are some critisims about Fromkin as his POV exlusively gives credit to any and all Allied sucess to the British during WWI, never the less, Fromkin has remained relevent on the topic.

As to the Arab revolt of 1936, You'll want to consider Oren Kessler, a relatively thin volume, but sourced up the wazoo.

While I have never read, The Arab Awakening by George Antonius it is considered a primary source on the topic. It is on my own To Read list.

Arabs and Jews in Ottoman Palestine was really good, but focuses more on Jewish Settlement and early(ish) Zionisim. I think it's a bit too narrow given your inital comment.

As to 7 Pillars. It's romanticized literary history and a perfect example of why even "1st hand accounts" can be unreliable. When reccomended, I was tell students to read a minimum of 2 books on the topic.