I finished Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. What I said about it in my last post remains unchanged. What I wanted to add was that the fall of the Ottoman Empire isn't over yet. It's not over yet in the sense that the replacement for the Ottoman Empire hasn't happened. Yet.

Too often we see history as a series of events that have a beginning and an end. WWI began in 1914 with the assasination of Archduke Ferdinand and ended in 1918. Then WWII started in 1939 with the invasion of Poland and ended in 1945. The bigger pictures is somewhat different. The reality is that WWII was a continuation of WWI. History isn't a series of disconnected events. It's a continuum.

What is happening in the Middle East started in 1798 with Napoleon's invasion of Egypt. Since that time the Western world has tried to take over and colonize the Middle East. WWI finally caused the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Wester powers have been aquabbling over the spoils ever since. Britain came out on top after WWI but then the US muscled Britain aside after WWII.

"Peace to End All Peace" covers from 1912 to 1922. The Western Powers have been controlling the Middle East ever since and the native populations have been resisting ever since. They will continue to resist until they have control over their own lives.

This book is essential to understanding the Middle East.