Rating: 
Summary: Nations as pawns on imperialist chessboard
Review: I enjoyed this book,it covers the period roughly between the late 19th century up to 1922 and is focused on an area much larger than the Middle East of today. It is full of facts and informative and yet fairly easy to read through. At the same time I agree with the reviewer who stated that the historical sequencing of some events is confusing. Fromkin just sticks the emergence of Zionism in at the point when he discusses it's main supporter - LLoyd George. There are other points where he goes back to go forward, which is sore on the brain, and there are some chapters (Afghanistan, Persia, A Greek Tragedy) that seem tangential to his main theme and could probably have been left out.His main theme, as I read it, is that the modern Middle East is the creation of diplomats and military officials of colonial powers playing the 'Great Game' using nations and people as strategic pieces, hoping to checkmate their opponents. The main protagonists were Britain, France, Germany and Russia, and the chessboard was the Ottoman Empire. There are many players mentioned but the three that get the most attention are Winston Churchill, Lord Kitchener and LLoyd George. The author very early on states that 'no man played a more crucial role...in giving birth to the Middle East we live with today than Churchill... there are frontier lines now running across the Middle East that are scar lines from those encounters with him." Although Churchill is mentioned often, in his many different capacities, ending as Colonial Secretary, it is not always clear how he made such a difference. It is very clear that colonial administrators were clueless about the countries and people that they were making decisions about. At best, decisions were made on incomplete information or based on misunderstandings. At worse, and startling in that it was so prevalent, decisions were made on racist, bigoted and simply ignorant assumptions. There was a degree of anti-semitism in British colonial thinking that allowed them to see international, Jewish, freemasonry conspriracies where there was no such thing, nor has there ever been. It wasn't just the British. The Germans, Russians and French were equally adept at developing and acting on discriminatory, narrow minded and self serving policies. How these competing interests were cynically played out in what is now the Middle East is where the book excells. The picture of the various generals, diplomats, Lords, Prime Ministers and rulers of all types eagerly swaping and trading territories like some game pieces is a very vivid image created after reading this book. I am left with an impression of a gigantic real life game of 'Risk'
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Summary: Is the Palestinian Problem an "Ancient Struggle"?
Review: I only just picked it up and started it a second time. This time however, I ploughed right through it. It is tremendous to remind ourselves in this time some of the REAL causes of Middle East conflict. Remind ourselves that much of the current problems were laid between 1914 and 1930. This is a frustrating work because you can see the root of so many problems and you have to bear through the story knowing how it ends, or continues as it were. The root causes of the Middle East conflicts are not ancient, they are fairly recent. Much of them based on the Western systems "inflicted" on them during the times described here in Fromkin's book. Fromkin has an easy style and his research and study cover an exceptional breadth. Rather than looking at certain isolated instances, he throws up a mosaic of the whole region and how it intertwines with the West and the East. If you never understood what the Ottoman Empire was or why the Middle East seems so complex, pick up this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating book
Review: I am not a historian to know if there are factual errors in this book, but I can say that I found it absolutely fascinating and very informative. It is incredible how Mr. Fromkin has been able to create such a capturing narrative out of strictly archival information. I happen to have originated from Eastern Turkey. I grew up hearing old people's stories of the war -- enormous brutalities and suffering of Kurds, Armenians, Turks, Arabs... I personally don't remember any book this comprehensive and informative. This book just brings it all together. I don't think Mr. Fromkin could get into details any further (as some reviewers suggest here). It is a guide book for those want to explore and learn more about the formation of the Middle East.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! That's been a while since I read something like that
Review: It's been quite a while since I read a book straight-through, from start to finish, w/o putting it down. Took about three days. Wow. What was the last one like that? "Three Musketeers" perhaps <g>. I can't evaluate it from the historical science point of view--I'm not smart enough. Perhaps the reviewer below ("colonialism...") is right about some facts being incorrect. But I have to say that my understanding of the Middle East has changed *completely* (it would probably be better to say that I gained an understanding vs. a disconnected mish-mash of opinions, newspaper reports, and facts that that I somehow "knew", but couldn't tell how if my life depended on it.) I have a custom of ruining books I read by highlighting, dog-ear'ing, writing on pages, and inserting lots of post-its everywhere. So, this time I've used a pack of highlighters on this book! (This method did fail sometimes, 'cause some pages I ended up "painting over" completely. There's absolutely no fluff in there.) The book contains such a huge amount of information--factual of course, but also a lot of analysis, that I *know* I will have to read it again, and probably more than once--at least in order to let the timeline set in. On the first reading I really felt overwhelmed, and I'll let it settle for a while (though I did go back selectively.) Btw, Fromkin's writing style is outstanding, especially for a book that's bound to be difficult because of sheer information volume. It's actually easy to read. Another good thing is is an insert with a great selection of photos and maps. There's something visual about nearly every personnage talked about wich makes the description come alive in many cases. The only problem is that even now my copy is close to start falling apart, and it would really be great if they made a hardback (and added more photos and, most importantly, maps.) Well, for maps I recommend to have a copy of Penguin Atlas of European History, it's pretty, colorful, detailed, got quite a bit of complementing text (factual primarily)--it's is a very good companion for Fromkin's "Peace ..." Well, all right... Oh, no, one more thing--the book contains a 15-page index, a 15-page bibliography (which is separate from reference section, which is about 40 pages long.) I mean, if you'd like to enlarge on what you've read (after taking a vacation <g>, of course) you've got links to about 20 years worth of related reading material there.) It's an outstanding work.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating history
Review: This book provides a fascinating history of the early 20th century "creation" of the Middle East. The book is written in short, easily digestible sections, so I found it an easy read even though the timeline does jump around a bit. I found it to be a page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: A good, solid book
Review: A Peace to End All Peace is enthralling in its reading and fascinating in scope, but a little bit of reflection after reading it brings to light some flaws. First, the history is somewhat lacking. I came to reading with a good deal of knowledge about it already, but someone without that prior knowledge might be lost. This is to some degree a reflection of Fromkin's scope, 7 or so years over a wide geographic area. Second, this book just wasn't satisfying. I can't really explain it, but I left this book feeling like I needed to know more, that reading those 600 pages had told an incomplete story. Nevertheless, I would rate A Peace to End All Peace to be a good and solid, if unspectacular, book.
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Summary: Sinister colonialism
Review: I read the other reviews pertaining to this book and I was a little surprised at how well this book was received. Overall I felt that the historical sequencing of the events was lacking and the sequencing of the chapters in the book confusing. I would think that it would be very difficult to make sense of the book without having prior knowledge of middle east history. I would not recommend this book for someone who is reading their first book to understand the evolution of middle eastern history. In many instances the historical facts that Fromkin presents in his book are incorrect or incomplete. On the positive side this book might be intriguing for someone who is interested in the history of the British colonial policies and some of the leading British political figures. In regards to understanding the history of the middle east, one of the few positives of this book is the fact that it illustrates the sinister role that the colonial powers have played in shaping the current picture of the middle east. While it is not explicitly discussed or analyzed in the book (a major disappointment), the reader will be able to realize the amount of influence and the hypocritical and racist policies that the colonial powers exercised in shaping the destiny of the peoples of the middle east. It is surprising as much as it is disturbing to realize the amount of freedom that the colonial powers exercised on helpless people to protect so called imperial interests. After reading this book, readers should reach the natural conclusion that the problems in today's middle east is a direct result of poor, racist, self-centered policies of European powers, made by politicians who were ignorant, hypocritical, and knew very little about the region they were ruling.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Fascinating glimse of various British WWI-period prognostications (Sikes, Lloyd George etc.), in light of how things turned out.
Rating:
Summary: I strongly recommend this book.
Review: I have recently finished this book. I found it very informative and well-written. I strongly recommend this book to everybody who are interested on middle-east, Arabic and Turkish history. Wothout reading it it is not possible to grasp what is going on today's middle-east.
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Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: The very image of British delegates clustered around outdated maps of Mesopotamia and the Holy Land, muffling curses as they try to pin-point elusive rivers -- with Semitic names they can't even pronounce but which they intend to use as arbitrary borders of the new nations they're delineating -- is just one of the many poignant details Fromkin inserts in this marvelous history of the early 20th century Middle East. The scope of the work is incredible. Fromkin opens with Churchill as First Lord of the Admirality, then follows the course of events that led to the dramatic showdown with the Ottoman Empire that erupted into the disastrous and devastating Eastern campaign of WWI. Kitchener, T.E. Lawrence, Gertrude Belle, Abd al-Azziz, Sykes, Ben-Gurion, Attaturk, Woodrow Wilson, Emir Feisal, Lloyd George -- are all participants in this dynamic history, and are adroitly described at there best and worst moments. The starry-eyed hopes of the Romantic Arabists opposing the Protestant M.P.s who envisioned the revival of Israel "from Dan to Beersheba"; Hashemite potentates installed as the ruling monarchs of predominantly Shi'ite territories; British officials in India questioning the motives of their counterparts in Cairo, who hoped to revive a "Moslem Caliphate" to serve as a "Mohammaden" buffer zone stretching from the Levant to Afghanistan, all as an elaborate chess move in the perpetual Great Game, waged between Her Majesty's Government and the uncertain forces -- "undoubtedly Jewish" -- influencing the Russian Czar. The fall of the House of Osman and the rise of the C.U.P.; the End of Imperial Russia and the ascendancy of Lenin; the Maronite Christians in Lebanon and Reza Khan in Iran; French colonialism and Italian belligerency; the shocking slaughter of the Armenians and the Greek catastrophe in Smyrna, are also discussed in this synoptic overview. David Fromkin helps elucidate the circumstances that led to the bewildering patchwork of cultures, religions and ideologies that constitute the Modern Middle East. Although the book would be easier to follow with a few more detailed maps, it is a beautifully composed and skillfully executed work, and well worth the money.
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