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  • Lords of the Desert

  • Britain's Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East
  • By: James Barr
  • Narrated by: Peter Noble
  • Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (228 ratings)
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Lords of the Desert

By: James Barr
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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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.

©2017 James Barr. All rights reserved (P)2018 Simon & Schuster, UK. All Rights Reserved.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Lords of the Desert

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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

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Unlistenable

Unfortunately you can hear the narrator sucking in breath each time.
Awful as totally off putting.

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7 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Informative, detailed, well narrated

There was so much information in this book. Well researched, and gave me a grasp of the complexity of our relationship with the Middle East and the USA. It also helped me to understand our past leaders and how we have gotten to our current position in the world.

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6 people found this helpful

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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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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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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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    3 out of 5 stars
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A story half told

The story is well presented in the 1940s illustrating the links between oil companies and the US and UK foreign policy. In the 50s the focus slips into UKs foreign policy and leaves the interesting links with the oil companies out. Without the context we lose interest.

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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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Chapter 21

There is an audio fault in chapter 21 with audio broken up throughout the section

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    5 out of 5 stars
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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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