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Lords of the Desert
- Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
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Lords of the Desert
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Summary
Within a single generation, between 1945 and 1970, America replaced Britain as the dominant power in the Middle East. By any standard, it was an extraordinary role reversal, and it was one that came with very little warning. Starting in the 19th century, Britain had first established themselves as protector of the sheikhdoms along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, before acquiring Aden, Cyprus and then Egypt and the Sudan. In the Great War in the 20th century they then added Palestine, Jordan and Iraq by conquest. And finally Britain had jointly run Iran with the Soviets since 1941 to defeat Hitler.
The discovery of vast oil reserves in Saudi Arabia, at a time when the United States’ own domestic reserves seemed to be running low, made America’s initial interest commercial. But trade required political stability. Its absence led the United States to look more critically at the conduct of her major ally in the region.
Added to this theatre of operations, the Zionists in Israel after World War One actively pursued a policy to establish and win an independent state for the Jews - which, spurred on by thousands of Jewish refugees from war-torn Europe, enabled them to build up the forces necessary to achieve power. How would Britain manage both Arab and Jewish positions and still maintain power? In 1943 they came up with an ambitious plan do so and in 1944 put it into action.
Lords of the Desert tells this story.
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What listeners say about Lords of the Desert
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert Herron
- 21-01-21
Excellent insight
Excellent insight into the West's interference in the Middle East.
well read and full of information. I did struggle a little with the timeline of events but they have just been me and not the author
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Marwan Ali
- 03-07-21
So much valuable information and accounts
I think reading this after finishing A line in the sand, has given a good overview on Imperial interference and power struggle between Western and Eastern powers, and can explain alloy of the issues that remain today in the middle east.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-07-21
Withdrawal from the Middle East
Well written account of the UK’s exit from the Middle East & the selfish interests of the USA, vs the UK.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- jeremy hurley
- 19-08-20
Better than any thriller
Fantastic book, full of spies politicians, shieks and dodgy characters. A must read too understand the modern middle east.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jubilee Coast
- 29-05-21
astonishing story!
well read and just an epic story which explains so much about British and US roles in the Middle East.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chris I
- 29-12-22
Excellent history, well narrated
A lot of detail. Seemed well researched. Covers a little known aspect of British history.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- EEG Master
- 28-11-21
More skulduggery in the Middle East: Britain vs US
Having seen their role in the Levant extinguished by the late 1940's, after a fierce but largely hidden death struggle with their French allies, the British were desperate to cling on in Egypt and Arabia. The Americans and Nasser had other ideas and this is the story of how Britain, was eased out by the US, helped in no small degree by British policy decisions that failed to recognise their much diminished status in the post-war world. A great example of the saying "Great Powers do not have friends, they have interests" and when British and American interests clashed, the Americans were quite ruthless in asserting dominance. A sequel to James Barr's 'Line in the Sand' which, although each book stands alone, should be read first if possible. An excellent read. Highly recommended.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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- Hassan Afifi
- 07-10-22
Excellent historical accounts (albeit with a few errors)
I listened to the audiobook and did read the book after reading “A Line In The Sand”. The chronology of both books fit very well.
The historical accounts were eye opening, to say the least, since I have followed both Middle Eastern and British history very closely over decades.
There were a couple of slight errors, though, such as certain area names in the Gulf, or calling “Naguib” and “Nasser” of Egypt “prime ministers” when they were “presidents” post the military coup in 1952 that turned Egypt from monarchy to a republic.
But, with such books, I usually don’t focus on the details, but what interests me are general themes and sequence of events.
So, it is not an academic book, but an excellent general historical account of rather important events that have had major consequences on the whole world.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Abusam
- 21-02-23
Complex recent policis, simply explained
Overall this is the story of the rivalry between the UK and US after World War Two. However, while they scrapped and/or agreed over various aspects of the Middle East world, we learn about the emergence of the Arab nations, who now dominate our energy and commerical worlds.
The author has a gift for narrative flow, which is beautifully suited to the measured tones of Peter Noble, the narrator.
I look foreard to listening to the earlier volume, which tells the story of the UK and France scrapping over the Middle East at the end of World War One.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mehmet
- 01-09-19
Allies or rivals
If you really want to understand the politics of the Middle East today, especially if you too sometimes asking yourself ”how come governers in the region act in such awfully, extremely and unwisely” you need to read this book and the previous one ”A line in the sand”.
Very good insights to understand the personalities of the dictators of the region, double faces of developed countries such as the USA, UK and France, and their money and interest-oriented struggle and selfishness. Shortly, ”Real Politics”.
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7 people found this helpful