Lords of the Desert: Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East

Guardian book of the day new statesman book of the year history today book of the year times literary supplement book of the Yearbook history magazine book of the year 'bustles impressively with detail and anecdote' —Sunday times 'consistently fascinating’ —the spectator 'beautifully written and deeply researched' —The observer 'Barr draws on a rich and varied trove of sources to knit a sequence of dramatic episodes into an elegant whole. Great events March through these pages' —Wall Street journal upon victory in 1945, Britain still dominated the middle East. She directly ruled Palestine and Aden, was the Kingmaker in Iran, the power behind the Thrones of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan and protected the Sultan of Oman and the Gulf Sheikh. But her motives for wanting to dominate this crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa were changing. Where ‘imperial security’ – control of the route to India – had once been paramount, now oil was an increasingly important factor. So, too, was prestige. Ironically, the very end of empire made control of the Middle East precious in itself: on it hung Britain’s claim to be a great power. Unable to withstand Arab and Jewish nationalism, within a generation the British were gone. But that is not the full story. What ultimately sped Britain on her way was the uncompromising attitude of the United States, which was determined to displace the British in the middle East. The British did not give in gracefully to this onslaught.