A very concise, easy to read and access history on the Middle East from Pre-Islam times to the recent past. Vvery helpful and informative! :) I'd even venture to say a fun read.

Great until the last few chapters when it becomes too anti-Israel.

Im giving it three stars since it tries to pack so much into one volume, almost merely giving events and dates at time without much else. It also heavily focuses on the modern era.

On the other hand I actually thought it balances bias very well and lays out mistakes both sides made. It really saddens me that so many reviews here claim its “arab propoganda” for really just trying to provide an unbiased history of the region. I suppose so many in the West want the Middle East to be an evil place they refuse to read history with an open mind.

This books seems to be enough for me in this subject. Everything important seems to be covered. Maybe economic history could be a great supplement though.

This book covers a vast amount of information about the often misrepresented and misunderstood Middle East region and after consuming this, I feel as if I learned an enormous amount of information as well as laid a relatively unbiased foundation for my further exploration into Middle Eastern.

One thing I would say, though, is it's also better to read a book about a particular place, religion, peoples, etc. that is written by someone within that group and I think this is especially true when referencing an entire region, worlds away from the Pennsylvania that professor Goldschmidt Jr. was constructing this textbook from. Nevertheless, this is a good book and a good foundational read for those interested in the history of the Middle East and, most specifically, for those interested in the Palestine-Israel conflict!

very good history text