Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Arabs: A History
    The Arabs: A History
    The Arabs: A History
    Audiobook27 hours

    The Arabs: A History

    Written by Eugene Rogan

    Narrated by Derek Perkins

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.



    Updated with a new epilogue, The Arabs is an invaluable, groundbreaking work of history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 19, 2016
    ISBN9781515973157
    The Arabs: A History

    More audiobooks from Eugene Rogan

    Related to The Arabs

    Related audiobooks

    African History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Arabs

    4/5

    74 ratings6 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be an excellent read that provides both breadth and depth. The historical narrative is balanced and the narrator conveys the text wonderfully. The author's approach to writing is engaging and keeps the reader's interest. The book shows the interconnectedness of the Arab world and explores its culture and aspirations. It also offers great coverage of recent history. Overall, this title expands the reader's understanding of the region and culture, making it highly recommended.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Great coverage of recent history (through 2009 in the epilogue)b in particular, with a narrative that had me engaged through the post-script (revised in 2016). Overall, the earlier history (Mamluk/Ottoman Empire) had good detail, though I would like a greater number of perspectives on some categories (i.e. Palestinian Mandate). Would recommend if you wish to expand your understanding of a reigion and culture that, admittedly, I had largely overlooked in my college studies (at least until Arab Spring my junior year).

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Excellent read. Provides both breadth (in time, in geography, in terms of sources) and depth (particular movements, events). Would say the historical narrative presented is rather balanced in its biases and political leanings. And since this is an audiobook, rest assured that the narrator conveys the text wonderfully.
    • 5/5
      I liked the style and the parallel way the author approached the different rigiones with a very difficult approach to writing. However, he managed to keep the reader's interest while covering the entire Arab world, bringing the stories to life while showing the interconnectedness between these local communities from the 15th century to the present.

      The most important aspect of this book is that it managed to show how connected the Arab world is and how this aspect is a major parameter in the dynamics between the Arab world and the outside world.

      Another main characteristic of the book is that it explain to the reader some aspect culture and the aspirations in the Arab world and how these aspects and aspirations where keys in the developments historicaly and in the present day.

    • 4/5
      Starting in 1516 and ending in 2011, this book gives a great overview of Middle East history. Although slightly anti-Israel biased, it nevertheless tries to be as objective as possible. Surprising is that PM Blair is mentioned only once, though he bears great responsibility for the current situation in the Middle East. The end (in 2011) is unfortunately too optimistic, as we know now.
      I highly recommend this book for anyone who has a (professional or just general) interest in the Middle East.
    • 4/5
      Eugene Rogan’s history of the Arabs is all at once expansive, exhausting, and exhilarating. It’s not easy to take a group of people whose history stretches back more than a millennium and package it for the general reading public. His history starts with the clash between Ottoman Sultan Selim I and Mamluk Sultan Qansuh in the early 16th century. Selim I emerged victorious and integrated Syria, Egypt, and most of the Arabian Peninsula into the Ottoman Empire. From there, we go to Egypt and outward to North Africa, then to the Middle East empires, and finally into Arab nationalism and the modern political situation. Over half the book is given to history after World War II, with modern events getting more thorough coverage. The Arabs is a sweeping book and helps the reader better understand their place in the world and how it got there in the first place. Rogan tries desperately to be a dispassionate observer, but in some situations, he cannot help but show a little bias. In many ways, this says more about the historian than the history, but the book is written well and covers a lot of territory, and so I enjoyed it just the same.
    • 5/5
      The best part about Rogan's history of the Arabs is its structure. The closer the narrative comes to the present age, the more text is allocated to it. This contrasts well with the usual approach where the near-present is given only a nod. Only the Gulf War of George Bush sr. is covered in too many pages. In the overall history of the Arabs, it is not that important an event and has now been superseded by the junior's actions.

      Rogan writes classic, old-fashioned political history: It is all about kings, politicians and generals. It is a fire brigade account of a region: Look, a revolution there; quick, a coup is happening here; attention, war has just broken out. In all the coverage of events and actors, the underlying causes are lost that might answer the question why the Arab countries have a singularly spotted and violent history. The heavy hand of the British and French colonial administrators as well as the choking love spread by Uncle Sam certainly played a role. The main culprits are the local elites skimming off the wealth of the region and neglecting the education of the people. Years ago, the Economist featured a great article about how much of the region's problems can be traced back to the lack of education and rights of women. Rogan's account features quite a number of female voices - but almost all are part of the elite. Rogan's history thus is an account of the squabbles among the Arab elites (which managed to rid themselves of foreign domination) but failed to offer political participation to the people. While nations grew and copied Europe's nationalism. they failed to create good governance and an inclusive solidarity among the people. Recommended.