Christopher's Reviews > The Arabs: A History

With all the conflicts going on in the Middle East, it can be easy for us Americans to listen only to Western and Israeli voices and completely ignore the voices of millions of Arabs who are more deeply affected by the consequences of war, terrorism, and despotism. In this great work of history, Mr. Rogan gives those millions of voices a chance to speak to us. Starting with the conquests of the Arab lands by the Ottoman Turks in the 1500s, Mr. Rogan charts over 500 years of Arab aspirations to be free from foreign occupation and intervention. By doing so, it puts the modern conflicts we see with ISIS in Iraq and Syria and the seemingly never-ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict in their historical context. After reading this, you may just walk away thinking that not all Arab grievances against Israel and the West are unfounded. One other great thing that Mr. Rogan does is point out the role that women have played in the region through the occasional aside throughout this book. Since women in the Arab world conjure up images of burqa-clad oppression in most Western minds, these asides are just as critical to shattering some of our notions about the Arab world as anything else Mr. Rogan writes about. But for an author who, in his introduction to this book, says he was drawn to the region by its diversity, this book sticks to a very political/military reading of Arab history. There are some mentions of certain movements, like Wahhabism in the Arabian peninsula, but they are usually tied to the political history of the region. Thus, many of you who are not as attracted to tales of political and military battles may not find this book as interesting. Another note is that the edition I read was published in 2009, so there is practically nothing about the Arab Spring, the death of Osama Bin Ladin, or the rise of ISIS. I do know that in a later edition Mr. Rogan has added an afterword about the Arab Spring, so I would recommend you look for that edition to get closer to the present day. Still, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the region and gaining a better understanding of their grievances and worldview.