The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years

by Bernard Lewis

In a sweeping and vivid survey, renowned historian Bernard Lewis charts the history of the Middle East over the last 2,000 years, from the birth of Christianity through the modern era, focusing on the successive transformations that have shaped it.

Drawing on material from a multitude of sources, including the work of archaeologists and scholars, Lewis chronologically traces the political, economical, social, and cultural development of the Middle East, from Hellenization in antiquity to the impact of westernization on Islamic culture. Meticulously researched, this enlightening narrative explores the patterns of history that have repeated themselves in the Middle East.

From the ancient conflicts to the current geographical and religious disputes between the Arabs and the Israelis, Lewis examines the ability of this region to unite and solve its problems and asks if, in the future, these unresolved conflicts will ultimately lead to the ethnic and cultural factionalism that tore apart the former Yugoslavia.

Elegantly written, scholarly yet accessible, The Middle East is the most comprehensive single volume history of the region ever written from the world’s foremost authority on the Middle East.

Genres: History, Middle East, Nonfiction, Politics, Religion, Islam, World History

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Bernard Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University and the author of many critially acclaimed and bestselling books, including two number one New York Times bestsellers: What Went Wrong? and Crisis of Islam. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Internationally recognized as the greatest historian of the Middle East, he received fifteen honorary doctorates and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Reviews

[Amin · Rating 3 out of 5]

اگه دنبال کتابی برای آشنایی با خاورمیانه هستید، این کتاب رو برای شروع پیشنهاد می دم.
کتاب از قبل از اسلام شروع می شود و تا سال 1995 ( سال انتشار کتاب) ادامه پیدا می کند. هر چند به بررسی مختصر تاریخ ایران هم می پردازد، اما باید توجه داشت که منظور از خاورمیانه جهان عرب است. به همین دلیل ، از قرون وسطی به بعد بیشتر به تاریخ امپراطوری عثمانی و برخورد آن با جهان غرب می پردازد. در سال های معاصر نیز بیشتر به بررسی کشورهای حاصل از تجزیه این امپراطوری می پردازد.
برای من کتاب مفیدی بود برای آشنایی با تاریخ این منطقه از جهان. چرا و چگونه کشورهای عرب خاورمیانه بدین شکل بوجود آمده و تغییر و تحول می یابند.
اگرهنوز در ابتدای مطالعه تاریخ هستید، این کتاب گزینه مناسبی است. اما اگر تاریخ ایران برای شما جذابیت بیشتری دارد، این کتاب را در اولویت های بعدی خود قرار دهید.
یکی از نقص های کتاب مختصر بودن آن است. جسته و گریخته به مباحث می پردازد، در طول تاریخ جلو و عقب می رود و خواننده باید دیدی روشن نسبت به تاریخ منطقه داشته باشد تا بتواند بهتر مطالب کتاب را درک کند.
مترجم کتاب حسن کامشاد است و ناشر آن، نشر نی. پس سخنی در این باره نمی توان داشت که هر دو استاد اند و کارکشته در این زمینه

[Mark Becher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book was a useful overview of Middle Eastern history from the Roman Empire through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obviously that is a lot of ground to cover in less than four hundred pages, so the level of detail is not terribly great. Lewis is aiming instead for a general understanding of the major trends in the region's development. Since the entire subject was new to me at the time of reading this book I had to resign myself to letting many of the dates and names slide past me for the time being; you just can't hope to catch all of the information the first time through. But it did provide me a useful skeleton outline of events and personalities, so that now as I continue to read in the field I am beginning to recognize details I have seen before rather than constantly coming across new information. The book is emphatically not a history of Islam; but only touches on it as a part of the history of the region. But I would suggest the work as a necessary historical background for any serious study of the content and especially the development of the Muslim faith. I would argue that it would be exceptionally difficult to arrive at any decent understanding of Islam without first studying the region in which it originated and the peoples by whom it was adopted and who were/are responsible for its propagation.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book! A clear, unbiased presentation of Middle East history over the last 2000 years - and told in such a compelling way that it was more than just facts and figures but a dramatic and engaging story. Lewis has a definite knack for story telling, turns of phrase, and well placed vignettes. Actually, I think there are at least three or four blockbuster movies we could make from this book!

[A. Sacit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was Published in 1995. I have just read the introduction to the book, where the author, the eminent historian Bernard Lewis, somewhat gloatingly writes about the superiority of the western civilization and how it positively influenced the Middle East in areas of costumes, printing, technology, military reforms, ideas, and so on, over the past few centuries. On a narrow perspective, what the author claims may be true to a large extent. On a broader perspective encompassing the millennium prior to the Renaissance and enlightenment in Europe, the opposite was absolutely true: the Middle East and the eastern countries along the Silk Road were fabulously wealthy, advanced in science and technology, philosophy and ideas flourished; whereas the West was poor and backward, and the only thing it could afford to sell to the East were slaves, while the knowledge and ideas gradually flowed from east to west over time. In my opinion, the author might possibly would have written the introduction quite differently if he were to do it today, in 2021, with the hindsight of past 20 years of havoc wrought and human suffering caused in the Middle East by the “civilised” western powers. I will update this review as I progress.

Update: April-2021

Indeed, the author emphasized in the book on several occasions the fact which I have alluded to above. So, he is forgiven for his peculiar introduction. As for the main body of the book aside from the introduction; in my opinion it is a “Tour de Force” of epic proportions, as the cliché goes. The author’s depth of knowledge and his familiarity with the Middle Eastern religions, cultures and history are most impressive. A worthwhile edition to this book since it was published in 1995 would have to include the devastating wars in Iraq and Syria, Arab spring and its repercussions, human migrations and sufferings, and huge increase of in the negative sentiment towards foreign interventions in the region. Anyone who is interested in the 2000-year past of the Middle East should read this masterpiece. Five stars.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positives: Lewis does an excellent job in the middle section of the book analyzing aspects of Middle East culture and government, such as the state and the arts. His anecdotes are longer in these sections, and he is better at focusing on subjects that he finds important. His modern history section is tightly written as well and fairly entertaining.

Negatives: First, Lewis has a pro-colonial and pro-Western bias that shines strongly in the modern history section. Lewis certainly believes that Western society and philosophy is "better," and seems to chide Middle Eastern states for not following it as he thinks is best. Second, the section on pre-Islamic and medieval history is very boring and fact-focused. To me, it seemed that Lewis had a weaker grasp of pre-Ottoman history and decided to give a comprehensive narration rather than focus on the most important themes/states. Unfortunately, this doesn't make for engaging reading, especially when he limits himself to 130 or so pages.

[Parsa Parvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب جامع و محققانه ای بود.نویسنده استاد مرکز مطالعات پیشرفته ی پرینستونه و مترجم هم معرف حضور اکثر کتابخونای ایرانیه.نویسنده تاریخ خاورمیانه از قبل از مسیحیت رو تا دوران حاضر بررسی میکنه.نویسنده سعی کرده نکات مهم از قلم نیفته.کتاب با انقلاب اسلامی و دفاع مقدس تموم میشه.تنها بدیش کثرت غلظت عثمانی گراییه.جذاب ترین بخش های کتاب از نظر من بررسی تحول فرهنگی خاورمیانه بود که نویسنده سعی کرده بود با شاهد و مثال اوردن از تمام هنرها و جامعه این تحول رو نشون بده.

[Timothy Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting overview of the history of the Middle East.

Trying to condense two millennia of history of an entire region into one book is rather ambitious and at times one does get confused with the details and direction. This is particularly true in the earlier part of the book, covering the earlier history, where of course records are rare. But whilst I don't come away from this book thinking I understand the history well, I do now have a rough idea of how the history has developed.

Where the book really picks up is in the last hundred pages or so, covering the last couple of centuries. Here the historical record is far more detailed, allowing a far more in depth analysis and fortunately for me is where my particular interests lie.

Overall an interesting read.

[Ugur Tezcan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce livre très ambitieux ne se limite pas aux relations entre l'Ouest et les pays du Moyen Orient mais étudie également la culture et l'économie des sociétés de la région ainsi que la nature du pouvoir politique. C'est certainement son point fort car on y trouve beaucoup d'information sur le commerce, sur les échanges culturels et linguistiques, sur l'evolution qu'à connu la notion du caliphat et celles des monarchies.

En même temps il a deux points faibles. Il se concentre essentiellement sur les deux grands Empires historiques du Moyen Orient (Safavides et Ortomans) et il parle très peu des sociétés arabes.

Un autre point faible est que son analyse final selon lequel les États occidentaux (essentiellement les Etats-Unis) laissent les peuples du Moyen Orient décider sur la forme du gouvernement qu'ils veulent fonder après la guerre du Golfe (1990-91) en laissant Saddam Hussein au pouvoir s'avère dépassée. L'intervention en Irak en 2003, le soutien apporté aux rebelles islamistes en Libye par les français et les américains pour renverser Kadhafi en 2011 ou encore la promotion actuelle de la démocratie (représentative) comme seul modele approprié de gouvernement prouvent tout le contraire.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who wants to understand the Middle East should start with Bernard Lewis.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good general history of the Middle East with a strong focus on Islamic (think Turkish, Lewis's main area of study)history from 622 AD to the first gulf war. The most important sections cover culture, local politics and the lower classes, subjects rarely covered in most surveys, which often seem to only bounce from war to war.

[Xander · Rating 1 out of 5]

In The Middle East, Bernard Lewis offers an overview of the last 2000 years of middle eastern history. This sounds interesting, and should rightly be so, but it doesn't really work out in practice.

I realize that it is extremely difficult to write a book that is not only complete but also in-depth, especially on an area that is as complex and historically diverse as the Middle East. But Lewis has so much ground to cover that he doesn't have the time or space to devote much attention to anything. This makes it a sort of strange high speed tour of the most important developments in the region. But even this isn't really true: Lewis mostly covers Turkish/Ottoman history and in general neglects Persian history.

One of the main strengths of the book is that Lewis offers a relatively short introduction on political and religious developments before the rise of islam - there are enough books on classical Greece, Rome and Persia. The main focus in this book is on islamic history, and this Lewis accomplishes.

After this, Lewis deals with the rise and spread of islam - a sort of 7th century 'Blitzkrieg', conquering Arabia, North Africa, Spain, the Fertile Cresent and parts of Central Asia within a century. The muslim conquerors used the existing political and economic infrastructure of the Byzantine and Persian empires, this explains (partly) why they could hold on to their conquests for so long. It is only after centuries that gradually islamic tradition starts to mould these conquered lands. Lewis tells us of the dynastic successions - the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Fatimids - and of the conquests of the tribes of the Asian steppes - the Turks, the Mongols, etc.

In the second part of the book, Lewis gives a fairly detailed description of the political, economic and cultural life of the Middle East up to the 17th century. What started as an Arab elitism, gradually became an egalitarian, expansive religion with its own schisms (Sunni/Shia, Soufism, Assassins, etc.). Even though this part is fairly detailed, I miss an expansive account of science and medicine in the early islamic period. Not only was this a very important part for islam itself, but it forms the stepping stone for the scientific revolution in 17th century Europe.

The third and last part of this book gives an overview of political and religious developments from the rise of the Ottoman Empire up to 1995. This is a period in which the islamic empires (Ottomans, Persians) got beaten back by European technology and economics until, in the end, they become imperial possessions of France and England. Lewis does a good job on describing how both World Wars changed the fate of the Middle East - from huge empires to petty nation states with their boundaries drawn up by French and English ambassadors.

During the 20th century the Middle East underwent many ideological revolutions - pan-arabism, communism, dictatorships and theocracries. I find it amusing how Lewis, writing in 1995, was optimistic about the development of liberal and democratic ideas in this region. How time has proved him wrong! But then again, maybe there's a democratic undercurrent that we in the West fail to notice. Only time will tell.

Before concluding this review, I'd like to compliment Lewis on finding a critical but honest way of representing Middle Eastern history. Middle Eastern history has been struck by Occidental accounts of Europeans moralising history; this book offers readers an honest account of the bigger historical picture without moralising about these events. It is only in the last two chapters (covering modern time) that Lewis makes a few remarks that could be read as 'Occidentalism' - but these comments were (in my opinion) substantiated and convincing.

To conclude: this is a recommendable book for people who'd like to get a quick update on the Middle East and who are only interested in the bigger picture. If you're looking for more detailed accounts of wars, political events, religious concepts or scientific discoveries than this might be a good starting point but it will not whet your appetite.

[Josef Komensky · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is show at the amusement park called Eftelling in the Netherlands. The show is called Fata Morgana. In the show can visitors through a boat ride visit an ancient oriental city. Perhaps Istambul at the golden age of Ottoman empire - perhaps Bagdad. You enter the city through gigant gates there are bearded soldiers hollering something at you but you still may come in. Next is the market square: you see all the merchants apprising their trade of all kind of spices, beautiful silk textile or already made robes. You can see also all the smal traders and services such as dentist and his unfortunate client or costumers who are observing the wares or/ and haggling about its price.

Next realms that you enter is the realm of the sultan's palace. There he is sitting in all his might, surrounded by the palace poets and dignitaries receiving foreign diplomats overladen with all kinds of precocious gifts. After that you have been allowed into the sultan harem and been able to see his collection of beauties playing and frolicking at his gardens. But there is change and you have been taken from sultans treasury through his jail / fortress inhabited by his soldiers and European infidel slaves. It is beautiful ride.

Why I am mentioning this ?
Because while reading Mr. Bernard Lewis brief history of the middle east I experienced exactly the same feeling. I have been there. Walking at the markets, surrounded by the wise mufees and fames Islamic scholars I was able trough this remarkable book experienced the Islamic/ Arabic history, culture and religion and I love it.

However is this book +/- 20 years of age it is still full of timeless knowledge and history.

[Alex Hui · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a very detailed account of how Islam influence the Middle East from sixth century and how the West shape the recent picture of Middle East. Readers may find the book focus much on Islam and a bit little of what happened regionally during Middle Age. It's also a good book on mental development of Middle East people.

[Leonardo Rydin Gorjão · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extensive and somewhat hard if not your main topic of occupation. I battled through but enjoyed. As someone born in the "West", with little or no contact with Islam, this book clarified plenty of what I had imagined to be.

[Cole Naisibtt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly boring, and not enough detail

[Maggie McKneely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot imagine trying to cram 2,000 years of anywhere’s history, much less a place as ancient, complex, and ever changing as the Middle East, into 400 pages. So kudos to Mr. Lewis for accomplishing that feat. However, “brief” does not mean “approachable.”

Most of this book was very interesting, especially since, aside from ancient Fertile Crescent and Egyptian pharaoh days, and the last 40 years of modern history, I didn’t know much about Middle Eastern history. Reading about its transformation from Middle Ages grandeur and its superior advancement to the West to the current state of constant violence and economic instability was fascinating.

But Mr. Lewis never met a run-on sentence he didn’t like. I probably re-read 50% of this book simply because by the time I’d get to the end of a sentence, I’d already forgotten what it was about. It’s also not written in a strictly linear timeline, so it’s difficult to track what century is actually being talked about at any given time.

So am I glad I read this? I’m not aware of any other books this short that cover this much of Middle Eastern history, so yes. It provided a helpful overview to a non-Middle East expert like myself.

But was it a major chore and am I surprised I actually finished it? Also yes.

[Seyed-Koohzad Esmaeili · Rating 2 out of 5]

سه نکته در بعد از خواندن این کتاب و نویسنده‌اش به نظرم جالب آمد. اول دانش عمیق و چندوجهی برنارد لوئیس بود. دومی تمرکز او بر سرزمین‌هاش شرق مدیترانه و عثمانی برای نگار تاریخ خاورمیانه بود و در نهایت هم بی‌زاری و نفرت حیرت‌انگیزش از ایران. کتاب البته تاریخ عمومی است و نه تاریخ‌نگاری تخصصی. اما به هر حال در همین تاریخ‌نگاری هم تمام سعی خودش را کرده که به شکلی از تاریخ غرب آسیا ایران‌زدایی کند و مرکزیت را از ایران بگیرد. اما هیچ کدام اینها باعث نمی‌شود که دانش و گستردگی مطالعات او را نادیده بگیریم.

[Metin Yılmaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uzun bir okuma oldu. On ay kadar sürdü ara ara okuyunca tabi. Bazı yerlerde akıcılığını yitirdi ya da benim ara vermemden, farklı kitaplarla konudan uzaklaşmamdan kaynaklı olabilir. Kitabın konuyu özetlemesi gayet iyi fakat sıralı ya da daha detaylı bilgi almak isteyenler için uygun olmayabilir. Bernard Lewis hakkında yorum yapmaya gerek yok diye düşünüyorum. Büyük bir tarihçi ve iyi bir tarih yazarı.

[Đào Kiên · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thông tin bổ ích cũng có nhưng mà trình bày lan man, rời rạc, lúc lại sơ sài quá đỗi

[Mertan Deniz · Rating 3 out of 5]

malum ortadoguda kartlar yeniden dagitiliyor, dedim ki kartlar dagitilmadan önceki halini bilelim ki ona göre pozisyon alalim. Bernard Lewis de bu konuda yetkili bir abiye benziyor. Aldim elime kitabi, attim hafizaya.
Ortadoguyu hiristiyanligin dogusundan 20. yy a kadar anlatiyor sayin Lewis. Önce bir kac bölümde özet geciyor, sonrasinda degisik konularda (kültür, din, devlet yönetimi, aristokrasi, ticaret vs.) ayri bölümlerde katman katman konuyu genisletiyor. Tarih kitaplarinda bu teknigi cok begeniyorum cünkü hem genel cerceveyi pekistiriyor hem de buradan hareketle daha derine iniyor. Sadece savaslar ve anlasmalardan daha katmanli ve sonucta olaylari kavramak icin cok daha faydali bir teknik oldugunu düsünüyorum. Kültür, din gibi konularda güzel anekdotlari da var Lewis'in ve bence sezarin hakkini sezara veriyor ve genel olarak objektif davraniyor. Ta ki 18.-19. yy'a gelene kadar. Kitabin son bölümleri 19. yy'a ayrilmis. Buralarda emperyalizmi ve sömürgeciligi neredeyse dogunun basina gelen bir lütufmus gibi anlatiyor. Ortadogudaki askeri üslerin sebebi uzakdoguya ve hindistana giden yollari saglama almakti, oradaki sömürgeler önemini yitirince ortadoguda da askeri ve ekonomik bir cikar kalmadi diyor. Buralardaki batinin varligindan aslinda demokrasi ve stabilite bakimindan dogulu ülkeler yararlaniyormus. Kitabin yazildigi 90'lardan günümüze kadar tarih simdilik böyle ilerlemedi. Lewis hakli cikacak mi gelecek gösterecek.
Sonuc: Ortadogunun arka planini gözden gecirmek icin iyi bir secenek.

Bu konuyla alakali dogu bati meselesine baska bir güzel bir bakis da Amin Maluf'un araplarin gözünden hacli seferleri kitabi. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrew]

This is a somewhat condensed examination of the last two thousand years of history in the Middle East. If you’re looking for detailed biographies of every major historical figure during that time, or elaborate accounts of military conquest, this probably isn’t the volume for you. On the other hand, if you’re curious about the broader cultural, technological and linguistic currents that have shaped the region, you’ve found a home. At the book’s centre is Islam, and the book occasionally feels like a history of Islam rather than the Middle East as a whole. Still, as Lewis argues, it has been the defining force for the region since its emergence from the Arabian deserts over fourteen centuries ago. And if there’s a historian in the West who understands the theological underpinnings of Islam and its relationship with the other great faiths of the region (Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, even the contributions of the Greeks), I haven’t read him. If nothing else, this book and Lewis’ work as a whole disproves Edward Said’s rather offensive thesis concerning Western outlooks on the Middle East.



Lewis does a very good job of describing the forces shaping daily life in the Middle East; the bureacratic administration of the Ottoman empire, land tenure, agriculture, languages, literature, even music. If there’s one minor failing, I think he could have developed a more explicit thesis on why the West was able to catch up and eventually surpass the Islamic world in virtually every field of human endeavour (to be fair, though, he has addressed this subject in other books). And one does get a sense of a once great civilization that has lost its way and is still struggling to cope with the changes wrought by modernity.

[Edward Habib · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10. This book was a decent overview of the history of the Middle East, but it was really hard to look beyond the book’s jumbled organization, its dated presentation, and the author’s apparent boredom with some parts of the subject matter — particularly the pre-Ottoman sections.

I picked up this book hoping to have a better understanding of the early Islamic empires and their monumental achievements in art, science, and culture. However, the book spent way more time dryly chronicling conquest after conquest without sufficient context or explanation of how some of the more obscure battles and civilizations fit into the big picture.

This book was most successful at illustrating the strong ties between the development of early Islam and the ways in which the faith was deeply influenced by the lived reality of life in the Arab world even during Muhammad’s lifetime.

I really enjoyed the middle section of the book. The focus on themes such as the economy, culture, and class was far more effective than the rushed chronology of the rest of the book. However, even these chapters would have benefited from sub-headers and better organization.

Overall, this book left me wanting to follow up on certain topics such as the Abbasid caliphate, the Ottomans, and the history of Lebanon. However, it didn’t quite meet what I was hoping for in an overview of the region’s rich history. I wouldn’t recommend this book as a cover-to-cover read, but some chapters are good reference texts.

[Justin Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much for my taste on the twentieth century, and not enough on the pre-Ottoman world, but that can be forgiven. The slightly oily feeling I got reading the last few chapters, however, cannot: Lewis seems to know an awful lot about the middle east, but, as with many biographers, all that knowledge seems to have made him less, rather than more, keen. The take-away of the last half of the book seems to be "if only they'd act more like Americans!" One day, we can wistfully hope, Arabs, Turks and Persians will embrace the system that has laid waste to their world over the last two centuries. Only then will they be able to re-take their rightful place at the bottom of the world's food chain. That weirdness aside, the first half is very readable and interesting, the second half intermittently interesting and very repetitive. But this book really tries to cover far too much, too quickly. There's no need for chapters about generic processes of modernization ("And then we gave the Arabs newspapers! And then we gave them coffee! And then we gave them...").

Finally, it's downright surreal to read a book about the Middle East written not only pre-Arab-Spring, but pre-9/11. To put it mildly, Lewis was *not* a good prognosticator, and his repeated references to (unnamed) democratic governments in the area seems laughable this side of the winter of 2010/11.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting overview of Middle Eastern history by respected Middle East scholar Lewis. Although, as some other reviewers here have noted, his style is not highly entertaining, if you are interested in learning something and enjoy challenging your mind, rather than being passively entertained by pop culture versions of history, it's worth the effort. Lewis takes the panoramic view of the social, cultural, religious, and political history of the region, which I found illuminating ofcurrent events. In particular, the knowledge I gained about the workings and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire has enriched, deepened, and changed my view of events from the Syrian Civil War to the Arab-Israeli conflict. I appreciated greatly that Lewis' tone was neither apologetic nor condescending towards his chosen subject, but rather respectful and as objective as one can be.

My main criticism of the book is that it did not entirely live up to its title. In a book on the history of the whole Middle Eastern region, one would expect a balance in coverage of the Ottoman Empire and the Muslim empires of Persia/Iran. Lewis spent the vast majority of the book describing characteristics and events of the Ottoman Empire. I came away with only a vague idea of events in Persia/Iran. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book.

[Bill Sleeman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Following the visit of some Muslim speakers at my church I took another try at The Middle East by Bernard Lewis, a book I gave up on a few months back. While I was almost able to complete it this time I must admit that again I found myself increasingly stymied by Lewis’ style. I really wanted to enjoy this book and not just get through it but neither happened – didn’t enjoy it, did not finish it. To be fair the content is brilliant but his writing is so slow and so very academic. It seemed that there was nothing that warranted a story, no event or person enchanting enough – despite Lewis’ very obvious respect for the people and culture – that sang out, just a straight forward recitation of facts and events. One might argue, so what if the book “didn’t sing” - but my time is valuable and I expect to be engaged and informed when I invest my time in non-fiction, if not then I am moving on to something else. The Middle East is very well researched and offers a thoughtful and responsible analysis of the Middle Eastern experience that, along with the good ancillary materials (maps, illustrations, indexing), make this a solid work but hardly an exciting one.

[Mircea Poeana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Civilizatii felurite si religii fundamentale.
Filosofii profunde si un complex drum al cunoasterii.
Puteri coloniale si nazuinte constante spre independenta, generand uneori dictaturi criminale.
Daca incercam sa judecam Orientul Mijlociu cu mintea noastra de europeni, s-ar putea sa pricepem prea putin sau nimic.
Iranul, Irakul, Yemenul, Siria, Arabia Saudita... sunt altfel si altceva.
Inainte de a se fi inventat nume pentru teritorii despartite de geografie, de razboaie si de interese, aici se nastea o lume care fascineaza si intriga de veacuri si veacuri.
Daca vom citi paginile acestei istorii ancorati in prejudecatile stagnarii sociale si ale lipsei de ratiuni culturale vom ramane la fel ca si inainte de lectura.
Sa ne desprindem asadar de oarece fundamentalisme si sa cercetam cu mintea si cu inima Semiluna Fertila.

[Anh Vũ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ngẫu nhiên nhìn thấy cuốn sách này khi vừa mới đọc được tin căng thẳng Israel - Palestine lại gia tăng, và dù nghe đã nghe tin về 2 vùng đất này từ hồi còn bé, mình chưa bao giờ tìm hiểu sâu về nguồn gốc của những tranh chấp này hay những tranh chấp ở Trung Đông nói chung cả. Và chọn đọc cuốn sách này là một lựa chọn chính xác, cho những ai muốn có một cái nhìn tổng quát về Trung Đông cũng nhưng lịch sử vùng đất này.
Cuốn sách cho chúng ta một hiểu biết chung về Trung Đông từ thời tiền Hồi Giáo, thời đại Hồi Giáo xuất hiện và thịnh vượng, cho đến thời cận đại và hiện đại. Dù không đi quá sâu (đúng hơn là không thể, vì dung lượng cuốn sách ko quá dài), nhưng đọc xong cuốn sách này ta cũng hiểu được phần nào về lịch sử, xã hội, văn hóa nơi đây, hiểu thêm về đế chế Ottoman, và hình dung ra được tại sao ngày nay Trung Đông lại là vùng đất với nhiều bất ổn đến vậy.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis is a good historian and his was an enjoyable enough read (more so than Karen Armstrong's book on the same subject). Creates a good understanding of some of the great historical ironies (e.g. how an ascendent Islamic culture preserved much of the history and literature that were foundational for liberal western culture, how Islamic culture went into a great period of decline in part because they didn't know of any good sources of energy to fuel their economic growth). A good companion book would be Reza Aslan's "No God But God." Lewis deals with theology in the context of history, while Aslan's focus is the theology of Islam from a moderates perspective.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.

I saw this book in the bargain bin and figured I could not go wrong. My historical knowledge, well my knowledge period, of the middle-east was quite minimal.

There is a lot of information in this tome, more than a person could ever hope to retain. That said, I think it is more than possible for most people to slog through and gain great insight into the politics, the religion of this rich and fascinating part of the world.

This read is a major endeavor so be prepared, but if you are truly looking for a comprehensive history of the middle-east, this is the book for you. If not, well, find an abridged edition. =)

[Karim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great and comprehensive introduction to Middle Eastern history. It is obvious the Bernard Lewis is a great historian and explains history, as well as culture, cleanly and accurately.

To be fair, his opinions tend to leak into his historical narrations. Opinions and viewpoints seen in his Atlantic article "The Roots of Muslim Rage" color his explanations for historical phenomenon. This may frustrate those that disagree with him. But it does not distract the reader from the history at hand and serves more to provoke thought rather than persuade.