The Making of the Modern Middle East: A Personal History

A Spectator Book of the Year A New Statesman Book of the Year 'An illuminating and riveting read’ – Jonathan Dimbleby Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of the BBC, has been covering the Middle East since 1989 and is uniquely placed to explain its complex past and its troubled present. In The Making of the Modern Middle East – in part based on his acclaimed podcast, ‘Our Man in the Middle East’ – Bowen takes us on a journey across the Middle East and through its history. He meets ordinary men and women on the front line, their leaders, whether brutal or benign, and he explores the power games that have so often wreaked devastation on civilian populations as those leaders, whatever their motives, jostle for political, religious and economic control. With his deep understanding of the political, cultural and religious differences between countries as diverse as Erdogan’s Turkey, Assad’s Syria and Netanyahu’s Israel and his long experience of covering events in the region, Bowen offers readers a gripping and invaluable guide to the modern Middle East, how it came to be and what its future might hold.

About the Author :
Jeremy Bowen is the BBC’s Middle East Editor. He has reported from more than seventy countries, covering fourteen wars including those in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Chechnya, Somalia, the Middle East, Rwanda, former Yugoslavia and Ukraine. His books include Six Days, War Stories, The Arab Uprisings and The Making of the Modern Middle East. He lives in London.

Review :
Arresting . . . excellent, doom-freighted Jeremy Bowen is one of the finest journalists and broadcasters of our age - qualities which shine through every page of this superb book. . . His judgements are invariably balanced but when they are due he does not shrink from scathing criticisms of the key actors. The result is an illuminating and riveting read. [A] compelling blend of sweeping history and vivid memoir . . . Bowen paints in the historical background masterfully and manages to convey the pressure, euphoria and horror of war reporting as well Bears witness to how lofty dreams of the post-Cold War period crashed and burned ... with deep empathy and understanding of the roots of the conflict Few people are as well placed to authoritatively depict the making of the modern Middle East than Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s long-serving correspondent in the region . . . excellent A clear and dispassionate account of the impact of oil, nationalism and the West on the Middle East. I left the book feeling both well informed and very depressed. A gripping and compelling account that swings between gut-wrenching eyewitness stories and dispassionate analysis, laying bare the hopes and horrors of the Middle East in the twenty-first century. A remarkable book. A heart-wrenching read . . . We should be thankful for his journalism; and for this work, too, with its rich historical details, its composure and balance, and its readability. The book is boosted by Bowen’s voice registering in the reader’s mind, in a narrative sprawling across centuries and borders. The writing is like his reporting: steady and clear, considered, compassionate He is skilled at sketching out the history, the tortous issues and the character of countries in a few elegant paragraphs This book is a very personal and erudite history of a troubled region . . . I highly recommend this fascinating book which is also a testament to a better era in journalism. This is a wise, compelling, fast-paced book - essential reading if you wish to make sense of the forces that have convulsed the Middle East, as well as unsettling all our lives, since the end of the Cold War. Bold . . . wears his knowledge lightly . . . Bowen knows when to provide context and detail, and crucially, when to stop – always a challenge for anyone explaining the Middle East. It’s a terrific book, pithy and pacy, equally at home telling stories of ordinary people as in encounters with princes and presidents . . . Bowen’s reach is unparalleled and his voice rings through loud and clear on every page. As a veteran of numerous Middle East conflicts spanning several decades, Jeremy Bowen is uniquely qualified to analyse and explain the region’s complex political and religious landscape. His book should be essential reading for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of this fascinating, but deeply troubled, part of the world.