Avi Shlaim is the author of the book, War and Peace in the Middle East. Avi Shlaim grew up in Israel and graduated from Cambridge University and the London school of Economics. The author is very qualified to write this history book. He has both academic and political experience. In the book War and Peace in the Middle East, Shlaim creates an authentic picture of the period, the place, and the events that occurred in the Middle East. After reading Shlaims book one gets a broad overview of the last half-century of events that occurred in the Middle East and their historical relevance in shaping this complex part of the world as we know it today.

War and Peace in the Middle East is a historical look at the conflicts that occurred in the Middle East. The author begins his journey by looking at the problems that were occurring after the destruction of the past Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman empire was destroyed due to the fact that it entered World War 1 on the side of Germany. This led the British to destroy the Ottoman political order and replace it with British rule. Then Britain created territorial sovereignty. There were some disputes that were settled and others such as the one between Iraq and Kuwait that generated some unsteadiness. The British who were the dominant power , wanted the people of the regions to accept their European ideas. "The Britain's postwar order created a belt of turmoil and instability from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf ." (Shlaim, pg.18) Instead of restoring order after the destruction of the Ottoman empire, there were many new conflicts that began to occur. The United States-a world power, remained quiet however some Arabs saw America as the co.-sponsor of Israel. With new British rule the Middle East was faced with many problems: the Arab - Israel conflict, inter-Arab relations, and great power involvement in the affairs of the region. (pg.26)

In chapter one Shlaim gives the reader a brief overview of what we will be reading and can expect later in the book. In the second chapter "Succeeding John Bull" we are introduced to how slowly the United States was making there way into the Middle East. In this chapter we also see the ongoing battle between the United State and the Soviet Union. Suez led to the downfall of Britain and left a place for other outside powers. "With the onset of the cold war, Britain culminated in 1965 the Baghdad Pact-a regional alliance including Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan"(pg.28) United State refused to join the pact and left the Soviet Union sitting in the Middle East. This chapter was brief , however it still managed to be informative, giving the reader many other issues to think about. We are introduced to the downfall of Britain and also see how the regions had many problems of their own. The last thing the Middle East needed was competitive outside powers. However that is initially what was occurring. The Soviet Union and the United States were beginning to compete for the dominant role in the Middle East, in hopes of their own personal gains.

Chapter three consisted of very important factual information. There are many dates and wars that were occurring in this chapter. Therefore causing a large amount of information being absorbed at once. The chapter begins with wars: the 1948 Palestine War, the 1956 Suez War, the June 1967 Six-day War, the 1969-70 War of Attrition,, the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the 1982 Lebanon War (pg37). The intent of this chapter is to show how the United States became a major player in the politics of the Middle East. The United States had very selfish reasons for helping out the Middle East. They wanted access to two-thirds of the world's known oil, they wanted to contain Soviet influence and expansion, they wanted Arab radicalism and to sustain the Conservative-Pro-Western regimes in the area. They along with that wanted the commitment to the security and well being of Israel (Pg. 38). In this chapter we are introduced to the globalist's and the regionalist points of view, these terms re-occur in the book. The globalist's focus on the Soviet Union as a strategic rival and the regionalist focus on the local sources of conflict. (pg. 39) We know that America wanted and Arab-Israeli settlement in order to bring stability to the region. There was also the Palestinian problem on March 26, 1979., the Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel was signed in Washington and it ended thirty-one years of war. (pg. 51) This however is not the end, as there were many more conflicts that occurred after this. Chapter three showed us how the Americans main concern was Israel and they thought this would be a good approach to formulate an American policy towards the Middle East. (pg. 59)

We know that Americans got involved in the Middle East due to economic reasons however later their motives were influenced by politics and security. "The cold war outlook that dictated Americas policy towards Arab-Israeli conflict from the Eisenhower Administration also guided its approach to the Persian gulf" (pg. 60). The chapter introduced us to the two pillar strategy which implied equality among Iran and Saudi Arabia. The United States helped out Saudi Arabia and Iran. They helped out whoever would benefit them the most. The Gulf had major military power now. There were also disputes between Iran and Iraq over water. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and president Carter told the Soviet to stay out of the Persian Gulf. The foreign policy was now shifting from regionalism to globablism. In chapter four Shlaim is informing us of the many disputes that were occurring in the Middle East. It also described how America was so heavily involved in this. At the end of the chapter we are told of the numerous events that were challenging Americas positions although none of them had to do with Soviet Union. The author further introduces the second cold war which is discussed in the following chapter.

Iraq and Iran were at war and they believed president Carter had something to do with the attack on Iran. During this period in history America was giving arms to both Iran and Iraq. However there was still an on going power struggle between the Societ Union and the United States. The States main concern was to limit the amount of oil obtained by the Soviets. A very important occurrence in 1982 was "Israelis invasion of Lebanon and Iran successful counter offense against Iraq" (pg. 78). The State then started shifting towards Iraq. The is quite different from before where the States were helping out both Iran and Iraq. Prior to this, Americans had stayed out of the war however now they intervening more. America had to stop the Iran-Iraq conflict so they took the side of Iraq. This lasted another six months. "The attacks demoralized Iran and on July 18, 1988, it formally accepted Resolution 598" (pg. 87). The Author tells us Regains administration policy was not very good. Iran was suspicious of the United States. The Iran- Iraq war was the longest international conflict since world war II. At this point the states also forgot about the Soviets threat. Both Iran and Iraq felt cheated from the United States. This seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout the book. It seems as though the United States is not concerned about the welfare of the Middle East they were just concerned for there own personal gain.

"Desert-shield and Dessert-storm" was especially interesting in chapter six. In this chapter we are introduced to the monster Saddam who had seized Kuwait. Bush tried to initiate business but Saddam refused. Saddam did not like the States or Kuwait, as he believed they were working together to undermine Iraq. President Bush wanted to improve relations, however Saddam moved his troops into Kuwait. Everyone thought Saddam was invading Kuwait to extract money (pg. 93). As he put forth one hundred thousand troops into Kuwait and single mindedly steered the Country into war. This was the beginning of "Operation Dessert-Shield", which led to "Desert-Storm" where the States increased the troops to four hundred thousand. Eventually the States managed to ejected Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Although the war was over, it left behind a messy and disorganized peace process. As you read the chapter it seems hard to foresee any sort of future peace in the Middle East. As soon as you resolve one problem there is another disaster waiting to happen.

After the series of disputes America called the Middle East peace process. We are left with the end of the Gulf wars and the collapse of the Soviet Union as a super power. This was the end of the conflict between the super powers as well as disputes between Arab and Israeli (pg. 105). The major event occurring at this time was the Madrid peace conference. Now it was a matter of getting all the leaders together and coming up with some sort of peaceful solution. The Americans led the Madrid peace talks, and everyone was there except for Britain. This was a task in itself. There were many things that occurred in the peace talks. To begin with Arabs refused to recognize the legitimacy of Israel (pg. 113). The conference at one point even generated into insults between the Israeli's and the Sirens (pg. 114). Israel wanted to negotiate separately with the Palestinians and the Jordan's (pg. 118). There was a series of conflicts that occurred during this messy peace process. Finally after about twenty months and ten rounds the conference reached a dead end. On July 25, 1994 the king and Rabin met openly in the white house and pronounced the end of the forty six years of hostility. This was called the Washington declaration (pg. 127). After three months on October 26th the treaty was signed that defined the international border between the two countries, Jordan and Jerusalem (pg. 128). For the Arab-Israeli conflict "Rabin broke up the Arab front, and concluded separate peace agreements with the PLO, Jordan and Syria" (pg. 131). The last chapter "Pax Americana" is sort of a summary of what was happening in the previous chapters. Avi Shlaims, provides a general overview of the problems in the Middle East at the End of his book.

War and Peace in the Middle East, is a short book, however it's content is quite grand. When you first pick up the book and start reading it. You get the impression that it's just going to consist of dates and facts. As a reader who is not familiar with Middle East politics it may seem quite overwhelming. You find yourself going back and reading the same paragraphs over and over again. Since there is so much information to absorb, you find yourself in a constant fear hoping you don't miss anything out. At the beginning of the book, it seems you're going to have to read it twice in order to fully understand the themes and issues Shalim is trying to get across. Nevertheless as you read on it get's less factual and more story like. This is not to suggest that their is no factual content later on in the book. It just seems as though the reader is more concerned about the relevance of particular events rather, than the date or time they occurred. It is hard not to notice the overwhelming amount of information that is introduced at the beginning of the book. As it seems as though the author was attempting to sum up the last couple of years of the Middle East problems in the first couple of chapters. Later we see Shlaim referring to specific events that occurred in the Middle East. For example he devoted a whole chapter to thoroughly discuss and explain the Desert Shield and Desert Storm wars. Shlaim provides us with an abundance of information . He thoroughly outlines the events that define Middle East politics. It is quite effective how Shlaim managed to organize his information to lead up to the big events he was going to discuss such as the Arab-Israeli wars, the Gulf war.

It is important to acknowledge that factual information can be manipulated in many shapes and forms, as facts can be over used in a extensive manner or they can be projected in moderation. Also if one uses dates and facts throughout their book its crucial to do so in an intelligent effective manner. Which Shlaim has definitely accomplished and deserves credit for. It is quite understood that there is a tremendous need for dates and facts in order to fully project the whole story in a historical text. If we did not have dates and relevant facts, we would not be getting much a history lesson. As factual information usually functions as the backbone of history books. Shlaim began the books with many dates and facts which to some may have seemed a bit overwhelming. Though later on in the book, the authors intention seems to shift from dates, towards actual events this was probably in part due to the fact that later on he would devote a whole chapter to single event, which would lessen the number of dates to work with. Although this may leave you with the impression that the book may have turned superficial after the first couple of chapters, this is definitely not the case. As the entire book was quite profound. Although some events and facts may have had more explanation and been more detailed. It is important for the reader to acknowledge that this may be due to the fact that one event may have been more relevant and needed to be stressed more. However a reader who is not too familiar with Middle Eastern politics would have to trust the author, to know which events were more relevant and which were of more historical importance.

Although there seems to be an overwhelming amount of content in the novel, it is very important to realize that he is only talking about a few specific and relevant events that were occurring in the Middle East. It is not hard to realize that the book is a political look at problem these regions were facing. Non the less the little knowledge I have on the middle east reminded me of the major religious contents that occurred and that occurring in that part of the world. It does not take a genius that religion must have played a major role in the problems that were evolving there. I feel that he should have expanded more on the underlying reasons to why they were having so many of these problems. Shlaim just blurted out the problems and the means that they took in order to solve or not solve the problems. A good example of the is in Chapter four (pg. 65)

"In 1973, just as the United States deemed the Nikon

doctrine a success, the Yom Kippur war broke out

between Israel and Egypt allied with Syria. The Arab

Gulf states made a dramatic and unexpectedly effective

contribution to the Egyptian/Syrian war effort by restricting

the production and export of oil to America and other

supporters of Israel"

Shlaim would take a look a one problem and jump suddenly into the next situation. In order to provide a more effective way for the reader to really connect with the content, the author should have had a brief summary or explanation at the reasons why some of the wars were actually breaking out. As many would like to know why there were so many problems in the region. Another example of this is on page 32, "the regions home grown conflicts, bitter enough on there own, became virtually insoluble with involvement of outside powers." The reader is left in a state of curiosity as to why they were having the conflicts. Although we were introduced to there problems and there outcomes, we were not told the actual reasons for the fighting and wars. it would have been a great asset for the author to have included this in the book.

While reading this book it seemed as though the author had assumed that the readers would possess a minimal amount of knowledge about the Middle East. As this book didn't seem to be intended for an expert in the Middle East. The book emphasis the major wars that occurred in the Middle East. The peace talks and negations were contained to one segment of the book. The organization of the book was very easy to follow as the chapters flowed from one to the next. Shlaim prepared us for the upcoming chapters by stating the purpose of the next chapter at the end of the previous chapter. Chapter six concludes as follows, "The Gulf war was Bush's war, he more than any other individual, deserved credit for the wars achievements and blames for its shortcomings" (Pg.103). The next chapter is "Madrid and After", which from the summary of the book, we know is a chapter on the peace talks and negations. In a few sentences Shlaim prepares us for the following chapter.

While reading the book a reader can usually determine if the author is giving more credit or being more favorable to one side or party. unfortunatly this was quite evident in War and Peace in the Middle East. At the beginning of the book we were told that Britain was of major influence in the Middle East. However it is later on that Shlaim informs us that Britians role was one of negativity and deist. One example of Britain's negative role is on pg. 29, "Britain was doubly guilty: guilty of aggression against Egypt and guilty of calculated deceit against its great ally". The author repeatedly reminded us of Britain's negative role, until its final downfall due to the Suez event. This negative portrayal leaves the reader with the impression that Britain was not of great help to the Middle East.

The rest of the book is devoted to the United States and their selfish reasons for being involved with the Middle East. In fact Americas negative, role in the Middle East seems to be a repetitive theme throughout the book. As it is stressed several times throughout the course of the book. As Shlaim reminds us of the States negative impact, one would see the Americans to be only looking out for themselves and not concerned about the middle east and there well being. As the author you must be very careful not to incorporate your personal into the text. For this is a book about history in the middle east and should be presented in an objective manner. While reading the book you may get the impression that Shlaim was blaming the Unites States for many of its problems that erupted in the Middle East. However I feel the problems would have erupted regardless of outside involvement. Over and over again Shlaim bashes the States for there selfish involvement.

"But the Unites States had four basic interest that made

the Middle East an area of special importance and

special responsibilities; First, the interest during the cold

war in containing Soviet influence and expansion; Second,

of growing importance since the 1973 - 1974 oil crisis, the

need to preserve Western access to two thirds of the worlds

petroleum reserves". (Pg. 38)

This is only one of the many examples throughout the book. Though the course of the book it seems as if the author is telling you a story in which America was the mean monster only looking out for themselves. In fact the author seems to resent any outside powers trying to help out the middle east. This to the reader may discredit the author legitimacy and you may question the actual events that occurred in the middle east.

While reading a book, you must ask yourself what the aim, plan and scope of the book is. In this particular case, the author was quite clear about the aim plan and scope. He was simply discussing, the wars and peace in the middle east and the outside powers involvement in this. The entire book is an excellent way to get grasp on the facts and issues in the middle east. None the less there is always one particular part or, event or, issue that sticks out in your mind. In this particular book I found Chapter six quite intriguing and I would like to further explore this segment of middle east history. This chapter titles "Dessert Shield and Dessert Storm" really grabbed my attention. I wish the author had spent a bit more time explaining the reason behind Saddam Hussien's insane invasion on Kuwait. However the fourteen pages that were devoted to his madness was quite enough to arouse ones interest. It is also important to realize that a further explanation of this issue would have extended the length of the book. Overall "Dessert Shelild and Dessert Storm" proved to be an extremely interesting chapter. Although I recall hearing the about "Desert Storm" at the time of it occurrence. I really never knew the events and issues that took place before and after this controversial event. Fortunately these events, when considering the book as a whole, remained in my mind. Although Shlaim didn't go into great detail about this, to me it justifies my belief that to go into depth into a issue of this nature definitely and easily requires an entire book. This book sparked my interest as I found Saddam Hussain's invasion quite disturbing. Further more I would like to explore and examine this in more detail in the future.

Shalim is discussing a very serious subject matter. This part of the world has no doubt encountered heavy burden of conflicts, hostile attitudes, political horrors, and human tragedies. Shlaim however is not discussing all this as he simply points out the events that occurred in the Middle East. He has also from a personal view point, projected a few of his prejudices towards the Americans involvement in the Middle East. When reading a history book one often takes away something from the book. In this particular case I was left with an abundance of historical knowledge pertaining to the Middle East. Although the whole book seems well managed, there are a few particular events that sore above the rest. War and Peace in the Middle East, is an excellent book to someone who has no prior knowledge to that part of the world. After reading this book you realize that the Middle East has suffered many problems. Shlaim outlines political problems and there tragic consequences. History along with the passage of time, does not stand still. What once seemed recent or was titled "current affairs" , has now become material for historians. This book is no exception. As we speak right now , there is something happening in the Middle East. This book has already been revised and updated, yet in a couple of years it will require further revision and updating.