A Peace to End All Peace, 20th Anniversary Edition: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East Paperback – 21 July 2009

The subtitle of this book is "The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East", and that gives one a pretty good idea of what the book covers. Extremely well researched and documented by the American author, lawyer, and historian, David Fromkin, the book describes in detail—including much "insider" detail—about the complex, Machiavellian maneuvering of the imperial powers—Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia—in the theater of what we now call the "Middle East" in the period between 1914 and 1922, in other words, the imperial struggle that we label the First World War or the Great War. The book is particularly good at elucidating the machinations of (and struggles among) the British Foreign Office, Kitchener of Khartoum, and the India Office and their complicated relations with the French, the Turks and the Arabs that turned the "War to End All Wars" into what we now know today as "A Peace to End All Peace". Unflattering pictures emerge of David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Lord Kitchener and a host of Arab and Ottoman leaders; but they are condemned by their actions and not by slurs from Fromkin. Can't be read without taking notes unless you have a total photographic memory. Amazing how the best histories are not written by esteemed academic historians.

Before I read David Fromkin's account of how it all happened, I knew little about the source of the issues in the Middle East. It was fantastic to get the background. It is an account of human folly. Of pencil pushers deciding the destiny of millions of people without any understanding of the far-reaching consequences of their decisions. For anyone, with an interest in the Middle East..this book is a must-read.

Excellent book, very well researched. It was a pleasure to read it.It is one of those books that explains a lot of today's problemsand very much worth keeping it for future reference.

I had to read this book for a class on the British Empire, but it was surprisingly better than I expected. Very comprehensive, it covered aspects of the Ottoman Empire and British/French influence from many points of view, and took into account various motives for actions of parties involved. If at times it was a bit wordy, it didn't leave any questions unanswered for me.

Excellent. Explained most of what puzzled me about artificial division of the Middle East .A different world of Empites rivalries. Recommended reading.

Should be read by anyone interested in the 'modern' Middle East. As relevant today as when written - should be read by all senior students.

great book thanks

The subject matter of this book is the histories surrounding the history of the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of the Middle East as it currently stands. It focuses on the people and politics behind the events rather than the events themselves and includes a thorough account on the (misguided) motives behind the Balfour Declaration which contributed greatly to the birth of Israel.The account of the blunders, frailties, misconceptions and lack of knowledge behind the twists of history is detailed and quite frightening if one thinks that things may not have changed much since then.Highly recommended companion to a history for the fall of the Ottoman Empire.