PDF Ebook Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro
Some people may be chuckling when considering you reading Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro in your spare time. Some could be appreciated of you. And also some could really want be like you which have reading hobby. Exactly what concerning your personal feeling? Have you felt right? Reviewing Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro is a requirement and a pastime at the same time. This condition is the on that will make you really feel that you need to check out. If you understand are seeking the book qualified Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro as the choice of reading, you can find right here.
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro
PDF Ebook Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro
Exactly how if your day is begun by reading a book Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro Yet, it is in your gizmo? Everyone will certainly consistently touch as well as us their gadget when awakening and in morning activities. This is why, we suppose you to additionally review a book Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro If you still puzzled how to get guide for your device, you can follow the means right here. As here, we provide Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro in this web site.
Right here, we have many publication Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro as well as collections to review. We likewise offer variant kinds and sort of the publications to search. The fun e-book, fiction, past history, novel, science, and also various other sorts of e-books are available here. As this Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro, it ends up being one of the preferred book Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro collections that we have. This is why you remain in the ideal website to see the remarkable e-books to have.
It won't take more time to purchase this Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro It will not take even more money to print this e-book Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro Nowadays, people have actually been so wise to make use of the innovation. Why don't you utilize your gizmo or other gadget to save this downloaded and install soft data publication Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro In this manner will let you to always be accompanied by this e-book Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro Naturally, it will be the very best buddy if you read this e-book Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro until completed.
Be the initial to download this publication now as well as get all reasons you need to read this Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro The e-book Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro is not just for your tasks or need in your life. E-books will constantly be an excellent friend in each time you review. Now, let the others find out about this web page. You could take the benefits and discuss it likewise for your good friends and individuals around you. By this way, you can actually obtain the meaning of this e-book Quicksand: America's Pursuit Of Power In The Middle East, By Geoffrey Wawro profitably. Just what do you consider our idea here?
An unprecedented history of American involvement in the Middle East.
In this definitive and revelatory work, noted historian Geoffrey Wawro approaches America's role in the Middle East in a fundamentally new way-by encompassing the last century of the entire region rather than focusing narrowly on a particular country or era. With verve and authority, he offers piercing analysis of the region's iconic events over the past one hundred years-from the birth of Israel to the rise of Al Qaeda. Throughout, he draws telling parallels between America's past mistakes and its current dilemmas, proving that we're in today's muddle not just because of our old errors but because we keep repeating those errors.
- Sales Rank: #839982 in Books
- Published on: 2011-02-16
- Released on: 2011-02-16
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.47" h x 1.48" w x 5.52" l, 1.32 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 736 pages
From Booklist
Wawro is a historian whose previous works have focused upon warfare in nineteenth-century Europe; viewers of the History Channel may also recognize him as the telegenic host of Hardcover History and other programs. In this book, Wawro tackles the formidable challenge of writing a comprehensive history of American involvement in the Middle East. In many ways an attempt to explain the historical genesis of the bind in which the U.S. currently finds itself, the author’s main narrative threads are the U.S.’ complicated and often conflicting relationships with Israel and Saudi Arabia. All else, he suggests, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and perennial tensions with Iran, is to some extent a collateral consequence of these Israeli and Saudi allegiances. Noting many parallels between past mistakes and present challenges, this selection culminates in an earnest argument for a more coherent and historically honest foreign policy going forward. It’s an ambitious project, but Wawro’s considerable talent for seamlessly blending military, social, and political history (as well as his extensive archival elbow grease) makes it a success. --Brendan Driscoll
Review
"A keen-eyed, sweeping survey of . . . U.S. policy in the Middle East since the Balfour Declaration in 1917. . . . An excellent argument for the necessity of careful sifting of historical precedent and error."
-Kirkus Reviews
"A coherent and highly readable analysis of America's involvement in the Middle East... Whereas many books have been written about one Middle East nation or one aspect of this topic, Wawro successfully provides the big picture."
-Library Journal
"An ambitious project, but Wawro's considerable talent for seamlessly blending military, social, and political history (as well as his extensive archival elbow grease) makes it a success."
-Booklist
"A bold and comprehensive account of America's involvement in the Middle East. Quicksand cannot answer the haunting question posed by General David Petraeus during the 2003 invasion of Iraq-'Tell me how this ends?'-but Geoffrey Wawro's history does reveal how an extraordinary tale of idealism, politics, force, and miscalculation began and unfolded over the past century."
-Rick Atkinson, author of An Army at Dawn
"Wawro does a terrific job of explaining why America's Middle East policy has been so wrongheaded for so long, and how it has gotten the United States into so much trouble in recent years. Quicksand should be required reading for everyone in Washington whohas a hand in formulating policy toward the Arab and Islamic world."
-John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago
"Foreign policy is a chief responsibility of any American president, yet readers of Geoff Wawro's Quicksand will be shocked by the history he describes- presidents, members of Congress, and lobbyists who consistently sacrificed statesmanship to expediency, leaving the U.S. stuck in the Middle Eastern quicksand Wawro so richly describes."
-Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
About the Author
Geoffrey Wawro is Professor of Strategic Studies at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. His previously published books include The Austro-Prussian War (Cambridge, 1996) and Warfare and Society in Europe, 1792 1914 (2000). He is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including the Austrian Cultural Institute Prize and the Society for Military History Moncado Prize for Excellence in the Writing of Military History. In 2002, he shared a New Orleans Press Club Award for the live NBC/History Channel coverage of the parade and opening of the D-Day Museum Pacific Wing. He is also the host and anchor of the History Channel's Hardcover History, a weekly interview show with leading historians, statesmen, and journalists.
Most helpful customer reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
Unholy Alliance: Politics and Oil
By Paul Hosse
Few topics grab my attention more than the Middle East. Civilization began there, along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, and some claim it may end there. The world's economy is fueled by the oil produced by just a handful of countries, and yet, rather than being a stable region because of global dependence on oil, it is the world's most volatile. The Middle East, the vortex of civilization, has in many ways become a black hole; dragging the nations ever closer to its center, and like a black hole, threatening to rip the world apart. Few nations have been able to long escape its grasp. So, how did America, and indeed, the rest of world's industrial nations, become ensnared the shifting sands of the Middle Eastern politics?
Few books have so expertly been able to answer that question better than Geoffrey Wawro's "Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East". Mr. Wawro, who is a Professor of Military History at the University of North Texas, as well as director the Military History Center at UNT, has been able to unravel the Byzantine world of Middle Eastern politics, woven into the cultures and religion of the people for generations, and give the reader a clear and comprehensive history.
For example, Dr. Wawo describes the blunders of the British Empire in closing years of World War I resulting from the vacuum of the collapsing Ottoman Empire and imperialist myopia which left Britain in control of areas such as the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and Palestine, while the French, seeking to maintain its shrinking empire, gained control of Syria. As a result, Arab nationalist aligned themselves with Nazi Germany (and Nazi Germany's policy of anti-Semitism didn't hurt either). The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was often a guest in Berlin, and Arabs were invited to join in a SS division comprised solely of Moslem Arabs (that veneration of all things Nazi, not unexpectedly, still continues in some Arab nations to this day).
Dr. Wawo goes on to explain how the increasing Jewish presence in the region, especially in Palestine, thanks in large part to the backroom dealings of President Truman, as well as British and French incompetence, as well as a growing powerful Jewish lobby lead to the establishment of Israel, against a backdrop of the Cold War, religious hatred, and economics. Many a Prime Minister and President has sought to get a grip on the Middle East, only to find events as fluid as the shifting sands.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. Anyone who wants to understand how and why were engaged in two wars in the region; why we're drilling oil wells offshore; why we're investing billions in alternative energy sources; why we're under threat from terrorists; or why we're paying nearly $3.00 for a gallon of gas needs to read this book. The threat is not just to America, but the world is real. If knowledge is power, then Geoffrey Wawro's 551 page "Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East" is an excellent tool to have one's arsenal.
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful.
Fluent, masterful, gripping history of US in the Middle East!
By Birch West
Every policymaker in Washington should be reading this book, which avoids the usual focus on crisis du jour and instead charts the spread of US power and influence in the region, from the days of Woodrow Wilson down to Barack Obama, from the Balfour Declaration to the Bush Doctrine. It's all here: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, the Cold War and terrorism. What I like most about the book is the way it presents each presidential administration as having had CHOICES to make -- some quite pivotal -- and most chose not to make them because they wanted to avoid roiling the Israel or Saudi lobbies. AIPAC types will NOT like this book, for its clear and strategic presentation of the facts, but they should read it anyway. The book is extremely readable, and presents quite an education in a single volume.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
Great stimulating book, Five Stars!
By Ramming
I loved this book. It is deep and educational, but it is never dull. Wawro blends biography, anecdote and truly startling analysis to shed light on America's checkered progress in the Middle East. The portraits of people like Nasser, Anthony Eden, Ike, Nixon, Bush 41 and 43, LBJ, Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, and the Shah are memorable and entertaining. Wawro's analysis of the wars of the region contains some pretty shocking revelations. Read this book!
See all 26 customer reviews...
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro PDF
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro EPub
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro Doc
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro iBooks
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro rtf
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro Mobipocket
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro Kindle
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro PDF
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro PDF
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro PDF
Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East, by Geoffrey Wawro PDF
