The Middle East: 2000 Years of History from the Rise of Christianity to the Present Day

Good read

Comprehensive and relatively short history book. The author's deep understanding of the ME has made this book to highlight key points from different perspectives: social, political and economical. Cross-sections are particularly interesting.

No complaints. The book in its paper back edition is as it was expected. I would recommend this to any one who is interested

This is a well researched and inciteful work. It puts the current issues in the middle east into perspective. How the past has shaped the conflict there.

Bought this as part of the 5 for my coursework. I found this very useful and the writing makes it an easy read that's also interesting!

Great service and extremely informative book

Bernard Louis' book on the Middle East is a concise book that clearly and elegantly presents and explains the most major and most influential events that took place throughout its history. It's a very good introduction on the historic facts of this geographical area not only from a military point of view but also from the economic, social and religious aspects as well. However, this book is plagued by dubious claims by the author such as Arabs not forcing conversions, women enjoying more rights than in the West, the dhimmis enjoying their life under their Muslim conquerors, the upward mobility of dhimmis, the welcoming of Jews and others (ignoring massacres and blight of both dhimmis and Jews). What's truly peculiar is that after each claim is made, a few pages along the book, the author recounts the horrid events and experiences women and minorities went through during Muslim rule but for some unknown reason often he does not connect the dots nor does he realize that it contradicts his previous claims. Even more unfortunate is that when he does occasionally recognize the contradiction he doubles down on opinion statements based on misinterpretation of facts rather than admitting to his fault. This happens throughout the book in certain paragraphs however it does not destroy the overall utility of the book itself. Even more hilariously, the author took on the optimistic approach over the Middle East by which it will slowly Westernize even more. Considering the recent historic developments one can only chuckle at how wrong he was. In short, it's a useful and concise book but be careful of its misleading opinions.

Incredible book full of facts, I found the Islamic conquests part (a lot of the first half) a bit of a slog, but I think that’s due to my interest being in the early modern period onwards in the Middle East. I couldn’t put the book down during the second half! I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a general history of the Middle East. The one issue is that there’s some very questionable claims about a lack of forced conversions, women’s rights and how technologically advanced compared to Europe the Middle East was. It feels like a classic case of one of my countrymen going native and falling totally in love with a foreign culture much like some of the great explorers of our past, so I can forgive him for that, you can easily overlook such things in this book, great author! Heavily recommend, timeless work!

Bernard Lewis is a champion of Middle Eastern scholarship. How can I rate him? This is a magnificent book!!!

Bernard Lewis is among the top historians of the Middle East. This book is testament not only to the depth and breadth of his knowledge, but also to his craft in writing history. _The Middle East_ is an excellent introduction to the broad themes, conflicts and personalities of the region since the age of Mohammed. Islamic civilization is complex: it involves a number of peoples (Arabs, Persians, Turks, Mongols), competing interpretations of Islam (Sunni, Shi'a, Sufi, Ismai'li) and a number of significant ruling empires (Mameluk, Ottoman, Safavid, Abbysid, Ummayad) that unfold over 1500 years. As Lewis points out, the culture of the Middle East does not have the continuity of China or India - rather, each successive ruling group brought their own unique spin on islam and governance. The brilliance of this book is that it clearly (if briefly) illustrates the relationship and network of ideas and people over time. Certainly there are flaws with such an overview - minutae and details that some would prefer are left out, while others may find fault with the level of specificity given. I believe Lewis does an exemplary job of striking a balance - not only in terms of political history, but also of addressing the economic and social changes and challenges the Middle East encountered over the last millenium. In particular, his discussion of the 19th and 20th centuries was excellent, summarizing the struggle the Islamic world faces as it seeks to embrace and mimic the indsutrialized West while it is simultaneously repelled and humiliated by it. Similarly his treatment of the Arab-Israeli conflict, while brief, covers the most important elements in understanding the points of disagreement. Of the many books on the history of the Middle East, I recommend this as the place to begin for a solid, broad overview of the major events politically, socially and economically. Highly recommended.

Scritto in inglese da uno dei più esperti e preparati conoscitori della realtà mediorientale e delle problematiche anteriori e successive all'arrivo dell'Islam (the last 2,000 years) è un libro di storia, sintetico, chiaro ed assolutamente documentato. Utile ovviamente l'analisi dei rapporti con l'Occidente e di "what went wrong" (specifico libro in materia, sempre di Bernard Lewis) nella risposta mediorientale all'evoluzione dell'Occidente in ogni settore

No scholar living or dead has written so authoratatively on Islam and the history of the Middle East as Bernard Lewis, and this book is his magnum opus. If you read nothing else by Lewis, then at least read The Middle East.

The best book I have read so far about the history of the middle East.The writer started with the simple knowledge the regular reader already knows about the middle East and moved smoothly onward.In fact, the introduction the writer starts with is a great success as it assists the reader connects past with present . Depicting the atmosphere in a traditional middle eastern coffee shop and connecting the clothes the Middle Eastern man wears nowadays to the past historical events make a great start to the book and a thrilling learning experience. Worth the read!