What do you think?
Rate this book
The United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11
Professor Yaqub of Univ of Chicago(Ph.D. Yale) is an expert in U.S/Middle East relations since 1945. This series of 24 lectures is based on an award-winning dissertation. The lectures included are: A Meeting of Two Worlds; Wilson & the Break Up of the Ottoman Empire; The Interwar Period; U.S. and the Middle East During WW II; Origins of the Cold War in the Middle East; Truman & the Creation of Israel; Eisenhower, the Cold War, & the Middle East; The Suez Crisis & Arab Nationalism; Kennedy-- Engaging Middle Eastern Nationalism; Johnson - Taking Sides; The Six-Day War; The Nixon Doctrine & the Middle East; The Yom Kippur War & Kissinger's Diplomacy; Carter & Camp David; The Iranian Revolution & the Hostage Crisis; Era of Limits--Energy Crises of the 1970s; The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan; Reagan & the Middle East; The First Palestinian Intifada; The Gulf War; The Rise & Fall of the Oslo Peace Process; The United States & the Kurds; The United States & Osama Bin Laden; September 11 & Its Aftermath. This is a 2 part set. Each set contains 12 30-minute lectures on 6 CDs and a booklet outlining the lectures. CD's (12 total) and booklets are contained in book-sized, plastic cases.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2003
8 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
December 10, 2016
This is a set of 24 lectures by The Teaching Company giving an overview of U.S. involvement in the Middle East in the 20th century. Yaqub earned a PhD from Yale and his old biography at the Wilson Center suggests this book sums up his published arguments and research interests.
As a prerequisite, I recommend Albert Hourani's History of the Arab Peoples (goes from 600 - 1991 A.D). For more detailed information on William Yale and U.S. involvement in World War I and the Zionist movement during that period I recommend Scott Anderson's excellent Lawrence in Arabia (2014). My knowledge of American relations with the Jewish people and the Palestinian question was shaped by chapters in the second half of Freedom from Fear by David Kennedy. For a look at the U.S.-Turkey-Iranian relationship with a tangent on the Palestinian peace process, I suggest Kinzer's Reset. There are a host of books dealing with the U.S.'s relationship with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the 1991 Gulf War. You might try Prelude to Terror by Joseph Trento for a jaded view on the CIA's involvement that Yaqub can only touch on. There are several works written in the 1800s by American missionaries and diplomats to the Middle East that are available on Gutenberg and elsewhere. Yaqub could easily add five more lectures since 9/11.
Although the devil may be in the details, these lectures (and accompanying note outlines) give a good overview of Middle Eastern policy mostly divided up by the terms of U.S. presidents. The student can better understand the disintegration of the Ottoman empire, the triumphs and trials of Zionism, the rise of Arab nationalism, and the effects of each American president's policies in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Before World War II, and definitely before 1914, American involvement was largely commercial and missionary. Yaqub provides good documentation of missionary schools and hospitals and the headaches created for U.S. diplomats trying to assist citizens in times of trouble. After WWII, insuring stability, preventing communism, and safeguarding oil became the driving forces of each administration.
Yaqub gives much attention to Abdel Nasser's often tenuous relationship with the U.S. from seizing the Suez Canal after U.S. rejection of aid for the Aswan Dam to the Six Day War of 1967. Nasser is the face of Arab nationalism and the mold in which many leaders seem to have followed. Yaqub does a good job tracing the history of Israel and the Zionist movement, as well as the plight of Palestinian Arabs from 1914. I appreciated that he included a lecture on the Kurds, looking at their history with modern Turkey and importance in Iraq policy. They are one of the few nationless minorities mentioned, which is unfortunate.
Yaqub contrasts policies of various presidents (most of whom experienced deep and consequential failures). LBJ, for example, cozied to the Shah of Iran and to Saudi Arabia and offered little criticism of their internal human rights abuses at the same in contrast to Kennedy. Nixon was too distracted by Watergate to be trusted with any decisions during the Yom Kippur War, so Kissinger had ultimate authority. Carter was bent on peace in Palestine and defunding the military abroad but ramped up defense spending after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Reagan's Lebanon fiasco and Iran-Contra are rehashed. The 1991 Iraq war and aftermath are also revisited. The Clinton years and his effort with Arafat and Barak to make piece are somewhat critiqued. Yaqub posits that Barak's offer was less generous than Clinton and history give him credit for. Yaqub helpfully includes a lecture on Afghanistan and its history up to 9/11.
The weakness of the series is that there is little mention of Yemen, not a great deal of focus on Syria outside of its wars with Israel, and nothing the economic rise of the Emirates. Libya is not technically in the Middle East but has been important in Middle East policy and counterterrorism since the 1980s; it gets one mention. Those countries are not in Yaqub's research interests so they are noticeably absent.
The accompanying notes are quite helpful, but the lectures themselves could have been edited better for quality. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. If you're looking for a primer on U.S. policy in the Middle East, this is a good place to start.
As a prerequisite, I recommend Albert Hourani's History of the Arab Peoples (goes from 600 - 1991 A.D). For more detailed information on William Yale and U.S. involvement in World War I and the Zionist movement during that period I recommend Scott Anderson's excellent Lawrence in Arabia (2014). My knowledge of American relations with the Jewish people and the Palestinian question was shaped by chapters in the second half of Freedom from Fear by David Kennedy. For a look at the U.S.-Turkey-Iranian relationship with a tangent on the Palestinian peace process, I suggest Kinzer's Reset. There are a host of books dealing with the U.S.'s relationship with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the 1991 Gulf War. You might try Prelude to Terror by Joseph Trento for a jaded view on the CIA's involvement that Yaqub can only touch on. There are several works written in the 1800s by American missionaries and diplomats to the Middle East that are available on Gutenberg and elsewhere. Yaqub could easily add five more lectures since 9/11.
Although the devil may be in the details, these lectures (and accompanying note outlines) give a good overview of Middle Eastern policy mostly divided up by the terms of U.S. presidents. The student can better understand the disintegration of the Ottoman empire, the triumphs and trials of Zionism, the rise of Arab nationalism, and the effects of each American president's policies in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Before World War II, and definitely before 1914, American involvement was largely commercial and missionary. Yaqub provides good documentation of missionary schools and hospitals and the headaches created for U.S. diplomats trying to assist citizens in times of trouble. After WWII, insuring stability, preventing communism, and safeguarding oil became the driving forces of each administration.
Yaqub gives much attention to Abdel Nasser's often tenuous relationship with the U.S. from seizing the Suez Canal after U.S. rejection of aid for the Aswan Dam to the Six Day War of 1967. Nasser is the face of Arab nationalism and the mold in which many leaders seem to have followed. Yaqub does a good job tracing the history of Israel and the Zionist movement, as well as the plight of Palestinian Arabs from 1914. I appreciated that he included a lecture on the Kurds, looking at their history with modern Turkey and importance in Iraq policy. They are one of the few nationless minorities mentioned, which is unfortunate.
Yaqub contrasts policies of various presidents (most of whom experienced deep and consequential failures). LBJ, for example, cozied to the Shah of Iran and to Saudi Arabia and offered little criticism of their internal human rights abuses at the same in contrast to Kennedy. Nixon was too distracted by Watergate to be trusted with any decisions during the Yom Kippur War, so Kissinger had ultimate authority. Carter was bent on peace in Palestine and defunding the military abroad but ramped up defense spending after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Reagan's Lebanon fiasco and Iran-Contra are rehashed. The 1991 Iraq war and aftermath are also revisited. The Clinton years and his effort with Arafat and Barak to make piece are somewhat critiqued. Yaqub posits that Barak's offer was less generous than Clinton and history give him credit for. Yaqub helpfully includes a lecture on Afghanistan and its history up to 9/11.
The weakness of the series is that there is little mention of Yemen, not a great deal of focus on Syria outside of its wars with Israel, and nothing the economic rise of the Emirates. Libya is not technically in the Middle East but has been important in Middle East policy and counterterrorism since the 1980s; it gets one mention. Those countries are not in Yaqub's research interests so they are noticeably absent.
The accompanying notes are quite helpful, but the lectures themselves could have been edited better for quality. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. If you're looking for a primer on U.S. policy in the Middle East, this is a good place to start.
November 28, 2021
Highly interesting and fairly unbiased account of US entanglements in the Middle East from WWI to 9/11. Unsurprisingly enough, this series of 24 lectures might just as well have been titled "Various ways in which the US has been fucking with and fucking up a large, diverse region of the world due to hubris, greed and other bullshit". The content is fascinating, the lecturer's delivery left something to be desired.
July 24, 2019
Many reviews on Goodreads and Audible attest that this is a good, straight-forward introduction to the role of the U.S. in the Middle East from 1918 until 9/11. I agree for the most part, and it is as unbiased an account as it may be possible to obtain. Yakub’s reading style leaves something to be desired. The first five lectures provide good background but, since the U.S. had little or no role in the region before WWII, these should have been condensed down to one or two. The story really begins with Truman’s role in the creation of Israel, a deeply portentous act that affected U.S.-Middle East relations to this day, and one for which Truman's motivations are not well understood. I’m next going the read Cohen, Michael J. Truman and Israel. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990 just to see if I can figure this one out any better. Like any history, aside from whether the person knows and conveys his material well, what determines its use for you is how the material is selected. This is for the most part a straight-forward narrative organized by U.S. presidential terms, but he is also affected by his personal research interests. For example, he dedicates a whole lecture to the Kurds (interesting enough), but ignores Yemen entirely.
February 11, 2022
This book is part of great courses collection and I actually listened to the course. Salim Yaqub is an expert in the field and talks about the involvement of US in the Middle East. Of course the history of Middle East during this time has been influenced by US and many of the facts are explored in this book.
September 21, 2012
Excellent source for a relatively unbiased review of the history of the United States' entanglements in Middle East politics. In Yaqub's telling of the story, Israel and the United States don't quite get through it smelling like a rose. Imagine that.
July 11, 2016
A relatively unbiased account of the U.S. and the Middle East relationships from early 20th to early 21st century. I throughly enjoyed it( the learning experince not the unfortunate events).
December 5, 2023
I'm not an expert on Middle East issues, but I certainly would like to know more about this important region, so I thought this 24 lecture series would be a helpful way to go a bit deeper than I have in the past. It was a mostly interesting lecture series, although at times I wanted to stop and be able to ask questions for further clarification!
A few others reviews noted that this series mostly focuses on the Israel-Palestine issue, which is very important, so that's understandable, but perhaps leaves other sections of the Middle East less covered. I wish this course was more recent than 2003. There has been much that has happened in this region since this was recorded twenty years ago. Professor Yaqub is well spoken and easy to understand. He came across to me as being unbiased in his presentation. I would listen to this series of lectures again and I felt it was a valuable use of my time.
A few others reviews noted that this series mostly focuses on the Israel-Palestine issue, which is very important, so that's understandable, but perhaps leaves other sections of the Middle East less covered. I wish this course was more recent than 2003. There has been much that has happened in this region since this was recorded twenty years ago. Professor Yaqub is well spoken and easy to understand. He came across to me as being unbiased in his presentation. I would listen to this series of lectures again and I felt it was a valuable use of my time.
June 8, 2019
Really enjoyed this lecture series on the history of the United States and the Middle East. The time-frame of the study begins with the advent of the First World War and ends with the tragic events of 9/11. It is an excellent primer on the situation in the Middle East from a historical perspective, especially as it relates to U.S. policy there; and reminds the student that American policy has not always been consistent in that part of the world. It also highlights lesser know conflicts and challenges in the Middle East, which permeate down through to today, such as the Egyptian military adventures in Yemen. I recommend this lecture for anyone wishing to gain a rudimentary grasp of this issue, though there are many other books I would recommend to dig in on particular sub-topics covered in this series.
January 2, 2019
Finished a couple weeks ago as an audiobook.
Illuminated a gap in my historical knowledge. I enjoyed learning listen and learning. It puts the ongoing conflict between the west and the Middle East in perspective.
We are still dealing with the consequences. Everyone should understand why current things are happening. It’s a sad state.
I recommend this to everyone with an interest in global history and politics.
Illuminated a gap in my historical knowledge. I enjoyed learning listen and learning. It puts the ongoing conflict between the west and the Middle East in perspective.
We are still dealing with the consequences. Everyone should understand why current things are happening. It’s a sad state.
I recommend this to everyone with an interest in global history and politics.
January 28, 2020
(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).
This is a helpful overview of the history of the relationship of the U.S. and the Middle East. It clarified several things for me.
This is a helpful overview of the history of the relationship of the U.S. and the Middle East. It clarified several things for me.
March 24, 2023
Excellent class on US and Middle East relations. It was very eye opening learning the history from 1917 to9/11. The US and other western nations even with some good intentions helped create the hate , mistrust, and anger in the Middle East. I always new the creation of Israel , the Iranian Shah, and oil were factors but there is way way more to it. I think everyone should take this class to learn why we have so much trouble in the Middle East and possible ways to improve our future.
December 4, 2019
I listened to this book on Audible.
The book considered some of the major events in the Middle East in a fairly objective manner, which is crucial in my opinion, knowing the preconceptions surrounding Arabs and Middle Easteners.
Highly recommended.
The book considered some of the major events in the Middle East in a fairly objective manner, which is crucial in my opinion, knowing the preconceptions surrounding Arabs and Middle Easteners.
Highly recommended.
August 9, 2021
I’m so glad I listened to this. I feel that I have a much better foundation now for understanding why things are the way they are between America and various Middle Eastern nations, especially the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
July 28, 2024
Most problems in the middle east come stem from oil, communism, and Israel. The United States tends to look at a lot of factors that don't matter then when stuff comes out they get destroyed by the public and don't accomplish their end goals.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2017
Good course of lectures. I learned plenty and will likely go through it a time or two more.
August 19, 2018
Fascinating overview which only highlighted my ignorance on the subject.
January 3, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed a way to educate myself further on what shaped the current Middle East. A must listen to for everyone who is interested in the region.
August 23, 2020
An informative overview of 100 years of world history.
November 21, 2020
Great instruction!
September 27, 2016
The content of the course is excellent, and I'd probably rate it 5 stars. Unfortunately, the delivery of the course is horrible. The semi-galloping then halting every 2 words delivery made me kind of seasick while listening to it. I tried, I really tried. But I could not finish the lectures. Someone needs to take Mr. Yaqub and give him some lessons in how to read his notes aloud without stopping for emphasis every word or every two words.
This is perhaps unfair, because I just finished the series by Dr. Fagan on Ancient Rome, and his delivery is just riveting. So I'll leave this for a few months, then try again.
This is perhaps unfair, because I just finished the series by Dr. Fagan on Ancient Rome, and his delivery is just riveting. So I'll leave this for a few months, then try again.
March 10, 2015
I decided to take a break from Ancient History and listen to a Great Course on recent history. The Great Course I chose was the United States and the Middle East from 1914 to 9/11 with Professor Salim Yaqub. In 12 hours (24 lectures 30 minutes each) I learned quite a lot about one of the most volatile places on Earth. The actions of ISIS dominated the news when I was listening to this lecture, so understanding a background seemed timely.
First, the lecturer. Professor Salim Yaqub didn't show any bias, he just reported the facts with a great deal of information for almost a century of history. He speaks slowly and clearly with no annoying vocal ticks.
I ordered this from Audible.com, so it did not come with the Great Courses syllabus. I suggest anyone ordering the audio course do what I did, and supplement the lectures with the internet. Familiarize yourself with a map of the Middle East through the past 100 years. The lines change a lot!
The first five lectures were more of a background, nothing really exciting happened after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire until the creation of Israel by Truman. The years from there held my attention as Pr. Yaqub outlined the almost constant conflict between Israel and its neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and of course Palestine. The US's constant changing of allies was also fascinating as we made allies with Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East nations only to have some turn against us as politics changed. The formation of OPEC and its affect on US oil supplies and prices were all in these lectures. Names I recall from growing up like Anwar Saddat and Meachem Begin, Henry Kissinger, Golda Meir all came to life. US presidents from Eisenhower to W. Bush's policies towards the Middle East were all reviewed. Isreal and the PLO's constant struggle was examined in detail. US support of the Shah of Iran and then conflict with the Ayatollah Khomeini were reviewed along with Carter's problems with the Iranian hostage situation. Ronald Reagan's Iran - Contra scandal was covered with Ollie North and the actions in Iran and Nicaragua. George Bush and the Gulf war, then W. Bush and his conflicts are all covered in detail right up to the terrible events of 9/11 and the ensuing aftermath.
For those seeking a crash course in Middle Eastern history, this Great Course was excellent. You may find yourself surprised to learn what a shifting set of alliances occurred in less than a century between the nations of the Middle East and the US. I learned a lot.
First, the lecturer. Professor Salim Yaqub didn't show any bias, he just reported the facts with a great deal of information for almost a century of history. He speaks slowly and clearly with no annoying vocal ticks.
I ordered this from Audible.com, so it did not come with the Great Courses syllabus. I suggest anyone ordering the audio course do what I did, and supplement the lectures with the internet. Familiarize yourself with a map of the Middle East through the past 100 years. The lines change a lot!
The first five lectures were more of a background, nothing really exciting happened after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire until the creation of Israel by Truman. The years from there held my attention as Pr. Yaqub outlined the almost constant conflict between Israel and its neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and of course Palestine. The US's constant changing of allies was also fascinating as we made allies with Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East nations only to have some turn against us as politics changed. The formation of OPEC and its affect on US oil supplies and prices were all in these lectures. Names I recall from growing up like Anwar Saddat and Meachem Begin, Henry Kissinger, Golda Meir all came to life. US presidents from Eisenhower to W. Bush's policies towards the Middle East were all reviewed. Isreal and the PLO's constant struggle was examined in detail. US support of the Shah of Iran and then conflict with the Ayatollah Khomeini were reviewed along with Carter's problems with the Iranian hostage situation. Ronald Reagan's Iran - Contra scandal was covered with Ollie North and the actions in Iran and Nicaragua. George Bush and the Gulf war, then W. Bush and his conflicts are all covered in detail right up to the terrible events of 9/11 and the ensuing aftermath.
For those seeking a crash course in Middle Eastern history, this Great Course was excellent. You may find yourself surprised to learn what a shifting set of alliances occurred in less than a century between the nations of the Middle East and the US. I learned a lot.
August 23, 2016
Great walkthrough of the major events between the United States and the Middle East. Yaqub dives into the major themes of growing US power in the Middle East after World War I, and the drive in the Middle East from secular nationalism to radical Islamism. He breaks down the ideas by focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian theater, the Arabian theater, the Persian/Iranian theater, and the Afghani theater, sometimes touching on Turkey and the Kurds. Yaqub illuminates the long shadows cast by the actions of the United States in the Middle East during the Cold War that have lasting effects today. For example, arming the Mujahideen rebels in Afghanistan to fight Soviet influence, would lead to the rise of Osama bin Laden and 911. In short, a great overview.
November 9, 2016
A solid grounding in the large movements--decisions, interventions and missteps--which for better or worse came to define the United States' relations with the Middle East. More heavily focused on the events of the late 20th Century, the impact of colonialism, boundary drawing and the establishment of Israel are nonetheless covered, if in less detail. One point which becomes clear is that the "Middle East" is not a coherent, known quantity but a mismatched set of tribes, races and nations lacking common goals. Sadly, the overall theme seems to be the failure of leadership, from both within and without the region--a theme which looks likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
January 11, 2017
An accessible primer for an understanding of the (largely) post-war political situation in the Middle East in general, and its relationship with the USA in particular
I devoured this course, beginning half way through - while looking for something else - and then going back and catching up. It is not comprehensive but more than enough to begin to understand some of the political history, the spheres of influence, the changing relationships and military conflicts in the Middle East. I'd highly recommend it for the interested layman who wants to understand the region and its central place in current affairs.
I devoured this course, beginning half way through - while looking for something else - and then going back and catching up. It is not comprehensive but more than enough to begin to understand some of the political history, the spheres of influence, the changing relationships and military conflicts in the Middle East. I'd highly recommend it for the interested layman who wants to understand the region and its central place in current affairs.
April 16, 2012
After 2001 one of the most-asked questions became "Why do they hate us?" This book does not seek to answer that question, but it does, with no lack of detail. If you want to understand the Middle East in economic and political terms, this is THE book/lecture series. Yaqub is as even-handed, neutral, and objective as I can imagine someone covering such a contentious topic could be. Once finished, you may wish to learn more by studying other sources, but this is a great place to start.
April 25, 2012
An even-handed, thorough view of the evolution of US relations with the nations and peoples of the Middle East during the 20th century. Fundamental to an understanding of our current predicament in that region, and a must-read (-listen) if, like me, you're looking for as unbiased an introduction to the topic as possible.
January 5, 2015
This was a lecture series on Audible I picked up hoping to get a better understanding of how the modern middle east came to be. I got what I came for.
Prof Yaqub does a great job breaking down all of the major forces & events which shaped the middle east from The fall of the Ottoman empire in WWI all the way to September 11th, 2001.
Prof Yaqub does a great job breaking down all of the major forces & events which shaped the middle east from The fall of the Ottoman empire in WWI all the way to September 11th, 2001.
August 21, 2018
This book is series of lectures presented about the Middle east.
I think it is not bios to any side and fair.
It shows how complicated is the international politics and how it is related together.
Each action from any side with produce a chain of reactions from all sides.
It is multi dimension chess game and a lot of players.
I think it is not bios to any side and fair.
It shows how complicated is the international politics and how it is related together.
Each action from any side with produce a chain of reactions from all sides.
It is multi dimension chess game and a lot of players.
December 10, 2014
I really enjoyed the course. I think the lecturer did a great job in breaking down some of the problems that the US has had in dealing with the Middle East, and he added a lot of clarity to the subject.
January 2, 2010
I don't know why God put America's oil under the soil of Saudi Arabia.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews