Empire of Sand Audiobook Libro.fm

Description

At the end of the First World War Britain and to a much lesser extent France created the modern Middle East The possessions of the former Ottoman Empire were carved up with scant regard for the wishes of those who lived there From the outset the project was destined to fail

Conflicting and ambiguous promises had been made to the Arabs during the war but were not honored Brief hopes for Arab unity were dashed and a harsh belief in western perfidy persists to the present day Britain was quick to see the riches promised by the black pools of oil that lay on the ground around Baghdad When France too grasped their importance bitter differences opened up and the area became the focus of a return to traditional enmity The wartime allies came close to blows and then drifted apart leaving a vacuum of which Hitler took advantage

Working from both primary and secondary sources Walter Reid explores Britains role in the creation of the modern Middle East and the rise of Zionism from the early years of the twentieth century to 1948 when Britain handed over Palestine to United Nations control From the decisions that Britain made has flowed much of the instability of the region and of the worldwide tensions that threaten the twentyfirst century this thoughtprovoking book considers how much Britain was to blame