If I could put the rest of my life on hold and go into study mode, perhaps I could absorb more. In my opinion, this is one of those books where the author is so intimately familiar with the material that he forgets just how ignorant the reader may be. I also thought the book contained far too few maps. I finally purchased some additional maps but with all the boundary and name changes, maps are required much more frequently to illustrate what is occurring.

I carried this book with me for a year trying to get through it. I had to force myself to read it and I never did complete it. I have now ordered another book that I hope will be easier reading.

I did learn many things from the portion of the book I read and I have a vague Idea what happened from the beginning of Islam through the period prior to World War 1. However, that is where I finally gave up.

I am not saying this is a bad book. In the right hands, I think it would be a wonderful book. That said, I believe the book is not for people looking for background that cannot study it as a textbook. The target audience of this book may not be people such as myself and I may have selected a totally inappropriate text.

There are many aspects of the history of the Middle East that do not lend themselves to easy reading. However, some authors can make history live, for nothing is as interesting as history. No novel can spin a wilder tale than history itself. This book just did not make history live for me. I will save it and perhaps one day when I have more background, I will read it again.

I considered Cleveland's textbook on the Modern Middle East a great source of history. After reading this book, I guarantee that you will better understand the present-day crisis in the Middle East than over ninety-five percent of the people in the United States.

In order to understand just a little bit of this conflict it is absolutely necessary to have some background on the political history of the region.

Prof. Cunningham does the job more than 100%. In a dispassionate, objective and always well-researched and very clear prose het takes us from the start of Islam through the Ottoman empire to today.

By showing the roots from Islam he describes a territory which for very long was not defined by our concept of Nation-State, but much more a loose federation based on a common belief. In particular during the Ottoman empire it appeared in it's true form; a tolerant society respecting the various forms of Islam and, indeed, taking Islam as the main religion but tolerant of other religions as well.

He also demonstrates quite clearly the devastating effects colonization has had in this region. By introducing the Realpolitik of that time where countries like Egypt and Syria only were regarded as supply centers for commodities or easy transport ( Suez Channel),the social fabric was destroyed and, more important, the right of self-determination was denied.

Whilst in other parts of the world this may have helped to develop the countries, like e.g.India, in the Middle East it has led only to disaster. In particular the way Syria, Lebanon and Palestina were dealt with in the Sykes-Picot Agreement is beyond belief. The only two interests that were served were the French and the English. A similar pattern is seen in regions like Iraq and Iran.

The resentment against the West is deep and goes a long way back. And, to be sure, at leats for me I have compassion for this resentment. The people of the Middle East have served for a long time only as pawns on the international chessboard.

This in my view is the greatest value of Prof. Cunninghams book. He really takes us back to the many crossroads situation in the history of all these countries in the Middle East, demonstrates what choices there were and which have been chosen. Seldom this choice was the choice of the underdog in the game, the people themselves.

We therefore understand after reading the book that the people in the region believe that there are many flaws in our Western system and that they want to guard themselves against these by emphasizing their own, Islamic, values. Inevitably this leads to fundamentalism and extremism.

In particular, prof Cunningham shows the great despair of the Palestinian people. Driven from their home territory they have not a lot left to do. As a Westerner I had always feelings of sympathy for Israel and that remains. However, reading this book has made me see the Palestinian Plight in a much more reflective way and gave me understanding and sympathy for their situation as well.

Finally, a compliment for the writing; cristal clear and never boring.