80 @ 80: Reviews in Asian Affairs

This pertinent, fascinating collection brings together the 80 reviews written by Ivor Lucas for global publication Asian Affairs to coincide with the author's 80th birthday. In the context of political unrest in the Middle East, and the emerging realisation of a changing, unsettled Britain, these reviews, mostly for books, offer a gateway to a greater understanding of Asian, and Middle Eastern affairs, to a reader bombarded with the current unclear, potentially unreliable media coverage. The purpose of Asian Affairs itself is to strengthen communication and understanding and to offer a platform for exchange of information between Asia and Europe. Drawing on a long and varied career in the foreign office and abroad, during which he was appointed Ambassador to Oman and Syria, Ivor Lucas himself offers a thoughtful, enlightened perspective on all aspects of Middle Eastern life, with the reviews grouped under the headings: Middle East General, Arab - Israel, The Gulf, Levant, Islam, Biography and Miscellaneous. In the last six years the reviews have focussed on the spate of books unleashed by 9/11 and its aftermath, including especially the spread of 'political Islam', and the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its consequences. The writings display a depth of understanding, coupled with the colour of Ivor's personality, which has, at times, produced not just informative, but idiosyncratic view points. This culmination of years of research and work reveals not just an indispensable collection for our times, but also a portrait of a man with his finger always on the pulse.