A Concise History of the Middle East

Reviews / Votes

"A Concise History of the Middle East is a studious and scholarly delve into history and the explorations of culture, offering an informed perspective on these events, a vital read." --The Midwest Book Review Praise for Prior Editions: "Our students and faculty alike have found this to be a well-organized, comprehensive, balanced, and exceptionally readable textbook. The authors blend significant historical detail with timely political analysis in a cogent style that is compelling and lucid. The addition of frequent biographical sketches and side-bars on major events or political terms bring additional features that make this a compelling and one of a kind introduction to the Middle East." --Donald Wagner, North Park University, Chicago "This review and update of A Concise History of the Middle East makes it once again the premier text for the study of the Middle East. Goldschmidt and Davidson's well-written and solidly argued analyses of the most important and crucial developments of Middle Eastern history and politics...could not be timelier...It will be a favorite of students and professors alike." --Robert Olson, University of Kentucky "This is a text that breathes life into the history it presents. The authors both care deeply about the region--and both recognize the responsibility of their American readers (their primary readers) to understand, and in a general sense sympathize, with the life struggles of the people whose history they present--and whose history has become increasingly intertwined with American global interests, often times, as they recognize and relate, to the detriment of people in the Middle East. The authors are not afraid to spell out these complexities in a style that is at once accessible and gently provocative. This is a text with personality." --Joel Gordon, University of Arkansas "As someone who has encountered the run of good, fair and middling texts on the Middle East, I can only offer unmixed praise for the new edition of A Concise History of the Middle East by Art Goldschmidt and Lawrence Davidson. Their narrative of the region's quite long history, too often opaque to Westerners, is sparklingly clear and straightforward for even the 'general reader'. They meticulously avoid bias, especially when they explore the tumultuous factors of modernization and westernization in battle against residual forces of ethno-cultural traditionalism. Throughout their remarkable text, they balance a clear treatment of politics and diplomacy, familiar from earlier generations of scholarship with insights into the region's historically evolving norms of society and culture." --Mark Seifter, Lehigh Carbon Community College "I have used A Concise History of the Middle East as the principal textbook in my Middle East history course for the past twelve years. Student feedback regarding the book has always been positive, as the book is not only greatly informative, touching on a multitude of topics, but very readable as well. It's an excellent choice for students who have little, if any, previous knowledge of the history of the Middle East." --Jose E. Alvarez, University of Houston "Well organized...straightforward and easy to follow...Designed to help the student acquire a basic understanding of Middle East history from the 7th century until the present." --Choice "An invaluable introduction and a useful reference book for the nonspecialist." --Journal of Palestine Studies "Excellent. Nice active voice, engaging, comprehensive, balanced. Particularly the coverage on early Islam." --Gina Cirali, Fordham University "The best single source I have found to introduce undergraduates to the Middle East." --Geraldine Forbes, State University of New York at Oswego "A lively and interesting account that is likely to allow students to understand and learn more than they might from a stuffy academic text ...Thorough and carefully balanced." --The History Teacher "A Concise History of the Middle East is a studious and scholarly delve into history and the explorations of culture, offering an informed perspective on these events, a vital read." --The Midwest Book Review Praise for Prior Editions: "Our students and faculty alike have found this to be a well-organized, comprehensive, balanced, and exceptionally readable textbook. The authors blend significant historical detail with timely political analysis in a cogent style that is compelling and lucid. The addition of frequent biographical sketches and side-bars on major events or political terms bring additional features that make this a compelling and one of a kind introduction to the Middle East." --Donald Wagner, North Park University, Chicago "This review and update of A Concise History of the Middle East makes it once again the premier text for the study of the Middle East. Goldschmidt and Davidson's well-written and solidly argued analyses of the most important and crucial developments of Middle Eastern history and politics...could not be timelier...It will be a favorite of students and professors alike." --Robert Olson, University of Kentucky "This is a text that breathes life into the history it presents. The authors both care deeply about the region--and both recognize the responsibility of their American readers (their primary readers) to understand, and in a general sense sympathize, with the life struggles of the people whose history they present--and whose history has become increasingly intertwined with American global interests, often times, as they recognize and relate, to the detriment of people in the Middle East. The authors are not afraid to spell out these complexities in a style that is at once accessible and gently provocative. This is a text with personality." --Joel Gordon, University of Arkansas "As someone who has encountered the run of good, fair and middling texts on the Middle East, I can only offer unmixed praise for the new edition of A Concise History of the Middle East by Art Goldschmidt and Lawrence Davidson. Their narrative of the region's quite long history, too often opaque to Westerners, is sparklingly clear and straightforward for even the 'general reader'. They meticulously avoid bias, especially when they explore the tumultuous factors of modernization and westernization in battle against residual forces of ethno-cultural traditionalism. Throughout their remarkable text, they balance a clear treatment of politics and diplomacy, familiar from earlier generations of scholarship with insights into the region's historically evolving norms of society and culture." --Mark Seifter, Lehigh Carbon Community College "I have used A Concise History of the Middle East as the principal textbook in my Middle East history course for the past twelve years. Student feedback regarding the book has always been positive, as the book is not only greatly informative, touching on a multitude of topics, but very readable as well. It's an excellent choice for students who have little, if any, previous knowledge of the history of the Middle East." --Jose E. Alvarez, University of Houston "Well organized...straightforward and easy to follow...Designed to help the student acquire a basic understanding of Middle East history from the 7th century until the present." --Choice "An invaluable introduction and a useful reference book for the nonspecialist." --Journal of Palestine Studies "Excellent. Nice active voice, engaging, comprehensive, balanced. Particularly the coverage on early Islam." --Gina Cirali, Fordham University "The best single source I have found to introduce undergraduates to the Middle East." --Geraldine Forbes, State University of New York at Oswego "A lively and interesting account that is likely to allow students to understand and learn more than they might from a stuffy academic text ...Thorough and carefully balanced." --The History Teacher