Category Archives: Middle East

Book Review: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia In Pictures

Posted on February 22, 2023 by nathanalbright

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia In Pictures, by the Saudi Arabia Ministry Of Culture And Information It is not always clear what audience a book is aimed at, and this is the case here. This particular book is mostly made … Continue reading →

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Book Review: In Distant Lands

Posted on December 22, 2020 by nathanalbright

In Distant Lands: A Brief History Of The Crusades, by Lars Brownworth What this book offers is mainly a short narrative history of the Crusades. Given that depending on one’s count there are either eight or nine crusades, to cover … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Crusader Castles

Posted on December 14, 2020 by nathanalbright

Crusader Castles: Christian Fortresses In The Middle East, by Brian Hoggard The author of this book makes a strong case for the vital importance of fortification design for the relative longevity of the Crusader states in the Outremer. While we … Continue reading →

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Turning The Box Inside Out

Posted on October 31, 2020 by nathanalbright

There are some parts of the world that appear to continually be problems for nations seeking to expand their control into peripheral regions. For example, the Scottish lowlands and Ulster have long been difficult regions to pacify and control in … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Hero: The Life And Legend Of Lawrence Of Arabia

Posted on April 3, 2020 by nathanalbright

Hero:  The Life And Legend Of Lawrence Of Arabia, by Michael Korda This book, a sprawling effort of about 700 pages, sufficiently demonstrates the difficulty of writing about its subject.  There are a variety of reasons for that–the subject remains … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Seven Pillars Of Wisdom: A Triumph

Posted on April 3, 2020 by nathanalbright

Seven Pillars Of Wisdom:  A Triumph, by T.E. Lawrence This sprawling book of more than 650 pages is evidence simultaneously of the reason why autobiographies cannot be trusted and also why they cannot be rejected out of hand either.  As … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Lawrence In Arabia

Posted on April 3, 2020 by nathanalbright

Lawrence In Arabia:  War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, And The Making Of The Modern Middle East, by Scott Anderson It is probably best not to know how the modern Middle East was made.  This book focuses on a small set of … Continue reading →

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If You Had Trust, You Would Not Fear

Posted on January 9, 2020 by nathanalbright

For the last few days quite a lot of panicky people have talked about their fear that they were about to witness the start of a massive war between the United States and Iran.  While plenty of potentially provocative incidents … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Making Of The Arab-Israeli Conflict

Posted on November 15, 2019 by nathanalbright

The Making Of The Arab-Israeli Conflict:  1947-1951, by Ilan Pappé If you want to read what a pro-Arab source has to say about the start of the Arab-Israeli conflict, this book will provide that.  Now, admittedly, my own views of … Continue reading →

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Bijî Kurdistan

Posted on October 8, 2019 by nathanalbright

For some time the Kurds have been a people whose fate I have pondered and reflected upon [1].  And there is good reason for that, several good reasons in fact.  For one, as someone who was born to a family … Continue reading →

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