The Arabs - Peter Mansfield

The Arabs - Peter Mansfield - Penguin - 1992, tird edition - 557pp, index, Paperback in good condition - Internally clean and tightly bound.

With the current discontent that we see so much of on the news these days,
I have been finding myself more and more drawn to gaining an insight to the Arab mind and their rich history. "The Arabs" by Peter Mansfield is
a highly informative book which very capably answered this need.

The book is in two parts; the first half is a thorough but not overbearing synopsis of Arab History and the second part tells the individual story of each Arab nation. For someone like myself who has
until now been fairly ignorant of the goings on in this part of the world,
the book has given me a more than satisfactory insight into issues such as
the ongoing tensions between Arabs and the people of Israel and the motivations behind the infmaous Iran-Iraq war.

I would also recommend this book to those people that are curious about the religion of Islam, possibly sparked (as in my case) by current affairs in the world today. The book guides the reader through the origins of this religion and tells of how it forged a united Arab people.