A Concise History Of The Middle East

The physical setting; the Middle East before Muhammad; the prophet of Mecca; what is Islam?; the early Arab conquests; the high caliphate; Shi'is and Turks, Crusaders and Mongols; Islamic civilization; Muslim empires in the gunpowder era; European interests and imperialism; westernizing reform in the 19th century; the rise of nationalism; the roots of Arab bitterness; modernizing rulers in the independent states; Egypt's struggles for independence; the contest for Palestine; Israel's rebirth and the rise of Arab nationalism; war and the quest for peace; the reassertion of Islamic power; the Gulf War and the peace process.