The Hashemites: The Dream of Arabia: The Peace Conferences of 1919-23 and Their Aftermath (Makers of the Modern World)

The Arab states at Versailles were widely considered to be pawns of the Great Powers. As the Ottoman Empire disintegrated, the Arab nationalists, led by Emir Faisal, fought for a voice within the mix of tribal, ethnic, and religious loyalties that made up the Middle East. The Arabs soon realized that their plea for self-determination had fallen on deaf ears, and they felt betrayed by both the Balfour Declaration and the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The decisions made led to decades of internal conflict throughout the Middle East, and Robert McNamara demonstrates how the boundaries decided after WWI continue to shape the history of a region that is at the center of world affairs.