Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Making of the Modern Middle East
- A Personal History
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bowen
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
The Making of the Modern Middle East
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
This audiobook is compellingly read by the author, Jeremy Bowen.
A Spectator and New Statesman Book of the Year
Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of the BBC, has been covering the Middle East since 1989 and is uniquely placed to explain its complex past and its troubled present. Here, Bowen offers readers a gripping and invaluable guide to the modern Middle East, how it came to be and what its future might hold.
In The Making of the Modern Middle East – in part based on his acclaimed podcast, ‘Our Man in the Middle East’ – Bowen takes us on a journey across the Middle East and through its history. He meets ordinary men and women on the front line, their leaders, whether brutal or benign, and he explores the power games that have so often wreaked devastation on civilian populations as those leaders, whatever their motives, jostle for political, religious and economic control.
Clear throughout is Bowen's deep understanding of the political, cultural and religious differences between countries as diverse as Erdogan’s Turkey, Assad’s Syria, Netanyahu’s Israel and Palestine, whether Hamas-controlled Gaza or the West Bank, and his long experience of covering events in the region.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic reviews
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about The Making of the Modern Middle East
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kyran McStay
- 08-08-23
A front seat view of a troubled history.
Fabulous and balanced perspective with an deep historical perspective. The narration was excellent…only someone who lived this fascinating account could have delivered it passionately. I have listened to it twice…and will do so again. Thank you Jeremy
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie O'Shaughnessy
- 16-11-23
Highly respected journalism
I have long liked and respected Jeremy Bowen and this did not disappoint. While very much personal experience, this is classic journalism in the sense or reporting rather than the opinion forced down your throat of modern media.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Patrick
- 21-11-23
A Book That should Be Read/Listened to By Everyone
This is one of those books that everyone should read or listen to, and Jeremy Bowen’s direct, lucid and easy style is complemented by his first class performance, as you might expect. I learned a great deal and my understanding of the middle east conflicts has improved immeasurably. As a listen, the misery described was relentless and there seems no obvious way out. I wondered what Jeremy Bowen's conclusion might be but that is something you should hear for yourself. I have been left with the feeling that one should treat it as you would a rattlesnake: keep your distance and don’t go poking it in the eye. Furthermore, the middle east seems like a place where one will very quickly experience for oneself that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
For those unable to resist, this book would serve as an excellent precursor for discussing potential solutions and assistance.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Granuaile
- 28-10-23
Timely
A helpful history at a challenging time. I can only pray that history doesn’t continue to be repeated. Sadly, current events are less than hopeful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- dmckenzie
- 04-11-23
Incredibly current, incredibly detailed, incredibly brilliant.
If, like me, you want to be better informed about what is going on in The Middle East then this is the book for you. Loads of historical background which is presented in an intelligent and unbiased way. Exactly what you would expect from a class act like Jeremy Bowen.
You do have to concentrate as it is packed with detail but there are no wasted words and so it is well worth paying attention.
His personal accounts of what he has experienced over decades are riveting and traumatic at the same time. A brilliant listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-12-23
Witnessing conflicts….
Jeremy Bowen’s clear unbiased narrative of just how complex the Middle East situation is, is an uncomfortable but compelling listen. We need to be made uncomfortable. Thank you for using your experience to help us understand the complexities of The Middle East.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- alex
- 02-12-23
Sad and authentic
Personal touching stories. From a birthplace lottery perspective, ME is clearly one of the worst for a normal human being.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Damian
- 24-12-23
Just plain excellence.
I could go into some detail as to why this book is nothing other than excellent, but I will let the book speak for itself on those terms and I'm sure you will come to the same conclusion as me. It is comprehensive without being overwhelming; it is fair-minded when there are so very many instances that fair mindedness should not apply. It is level headed, when from this side of the audiobook, I feel nothing other than debilitating moral indignation. Jeremy Bowen is a star, and I for one, love him.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jonny
- 30-12-23
Enlightening
A more honest view of the Middle East than you’ll ever get from mainstream media from a man who’s lived it, listen to this before you complain about boats crossing the channel.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- cc
- 01-08-23
interesting and thoughtful
a really interesting look back on the middle east from someone who as spent a majority of his life reporting on it also some very open and honest accounts of the feelings he had and the negative experience Bowen has had in the last 30 years, all in all a very good listen or read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!