Britain in the Middle East

Robert T. Harrison is Professor of History at Southern Oregon University, USA. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and has over 30 years' experience of teaching and researching in the field of British imperialism in the Middle East.

This entertaining book presents a breathless romp through the many misguided, dishonest, and ill-fated ventures of the British in the Middle East. Writing in a style that younger undergraduates will probably find appealing, Harrison (Southern Oregon Univ.) adopts an informal and colloquial manner of presentation that characterizes, for example, Egypt as “the jugular vein of the British Empire,” or the possible outcome of a British policy proposal as “no harm, no foul.” Social and cultural historians might decry the book because it is an unabashedly old-fashioned, straightforward diplomatic and military history. Nevertheless, Harrison does not shy away from providing copious illustrations of the duplicity and deceit practiced by British politicians and diplomats. In this, however, the British were not alone. Middle Eastern politics necessarily drew in the Ottoman Turks, French, Germans, Americans, and Russians. None of these actors emerge with any dignity. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Public, general, and undergraduate libraries.

• Introduction1. Getting Started: The Search for Trade, 1555-17632. The Impact of the Seven Years War: Victory, Power and Dominance to 17973. The Napoleonic Wars and the Search for Regional Security, 198-18154. Expanded British Influence in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Egypt, 1815-18415. The 'Great Game' and Afghanistan, 1838-18426. The 'Eastern Question' and the Crimean War and its Causes, 1838-18567. The Question of Egypt, 1838-18798. The Invasion of Egypt, the Turning Point and Direct Control, 18829. Intervention's Aftermath and the Imperial Scramble, 1883-191410. The First World War, the Mesopotamian and Palestinian Campaigns and Treaty-Making, 1914-191811. War's Aftermath: The Watershed, 1918-192212. Tenacity Enshrined: Holding on, 1922-194013. Britain's 'Defense-Offense' in the Middle East in the Second World War, 1939-194514. The End of the Road: Exit from Empire, 1945-197115. ConclusionBibliographyIndex