Sandcastles: The Arabs in Search of the Modern World (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East)

What is really happening in the Middle East? In this fascinating account of seven key countries - plus a people without a country, the Palestinians - veteran New Yorker writer Milton Viorst takes us behind the headlines to show the cultural, social and historical complexities motivating - and tormenting - the Arab world. We go to Baghdad, both before the Gulf War and now after, isolated in its broken hopes; to Turkey, once the overlord of the entire region; to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Jordan. Like David Lamb's The Arabs, SANDCASTLES is essential reading for anyone wishing to gain an understanding of this critical area - and its future.