This is a well written, accessible academic book that gives a sense of the dynamics and of the port city of Massawa, currently Eritrea, during the 1800s. Massawa here is a microcosm of the Red Sea community more broadly, and is stands against academic and political biases that treat the coasts, islands, and ports of the Red sea as belonging either to Africa or Arabia. While rooted in the colonial past, the themes are very relevant to the modern politics of the Red Sea. This is a great example of a very focused study that adds a distinctive perspective on a much larger region.
In the late 19th century, the port of Massawa, in Eritrea on the Red Sea, was a thriving, vibrant, multiethnic commercial hub. Red Sea Citizens tells the story of how Massawa rose to prominence as one of Northeast Africa's most important shipping centers. Jonathan Miran reconstructs the social, material, religious, and cultural history of this mercantile community in a period of sweeping change. He shows how Massawa and its citizens benefited from migrations across the Indian Ocean, the Arabian peninsula, Egypt, and the African interior. Miran also notes the changes that took place in Massawa as traders did business and…
A fascinating perspective on the geopolitics of international trade, written from the often-neglected maritime perspective. Writing in a brisk style not overburdened by facts, the author explains the drivers behind great power competition in the Mediterranean, the South China Sea, the Black and Baltic Seas, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Arctic, and the interdependencies between these regions. Includes a number of useful maps.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and…
Nasser's Gamble is an accessible, fluid articulation of Egypt's disastrous pro-Republican war in Yemen in the 1960s, and the thesis that the resources devoted to it (and lack of foresight) dramatically impacted Egypt's performance in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Not overly academic, and syntheses several other studies, with original archival research. A (somewhat) new take on a critical, and not popularly known piece of Middle East history.
Nasser's Gamble draws on declassified documents from six countries and original material in Arabic, German, Hebrew, and Russian to present a new understanding of Egypt's disastrous five-year intervention in Yemen, which Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser later referred to as "my Vietnam." Jesse Ferris argues that Nasser's attempt to export the Egyptian revolution to Yemen played a decisive role in destabilizing Egypt's relations with the Cold War powers, tarnishing its image in the Arab world, ruining its economy, and driving its rulers to instigate the fatal series of missteps that led to war with Israel in 1967. Viewing the Six…
Published in 2022, Benghazi!: A New History is a former US diplomat's eyewitness testimony of the circumstances surrounding the Al Qaeda terrorist attack on the US mission in Benghazi in 2012; It is also a deep analysis of the evolution of a very public 3-year political scandal, whose toxicity thwarted attempts to understand its causes and broader impact. New Lines Magazine (UK) named the book one of its 10 Best Reads of 2022. Middle East Policy Journal called it "likely the definitive book on Benghazi." If you're looking for a book to help understand American politics and the 2016 and 2024 elections, this should be an enlightening and surprising journey.
