The Man Who Created the Middle East: A Story of Empire, Conflict and the Sykes-Picot Agreement
Written by Christopher Simon Sykes
Narrated by Mike Grady
4/5
()
About this audiobook
At the age of only 36, Sir Mark Sykes was signatory to the Sykes-Picot agreement, one of the most reviled treaties of modern times. A century later, Christopher Sykes’ lively biography of his grandfather reassesses his life and work, and the political instability and violence in the Middle East attributed to it.
The Sykes–Picot agreement was drawn by the eponymous
British and French diplomats in 1916 to determine the divide
of the collapsing empire in the event of an allied victory in
World War I. Excluding Arab involvement, it negated their
earlier guarantee of independence made by the British –
and controversy has raged around it ever since.
But who was Mark Sykes?
A century on, Christopher Simon Sykes reveals new facets
of a misremembered diplomatic giant. Using previously
undisclosed family letters and cartoons by his grandfather,
he delivers a comprehensive and humbling account of the man behind one of the most impactful policies in the Middle East.
Related to The Man Who Created the Middle East
Related audiobooks
Empire and Jihad: The Anglo-Arab Wars of 1870-1920 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Opium War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Arab Winter: A Tragedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Understanding Iran: Everything You Need to Know, From Persia to the Islamic Republic, From Cyrus to Khamenei Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inside the Middle East: Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Beirut to Jerusalem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Afghanistan: What Everyone Needs to Know Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5ISIS: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Europe's Shadow: Two Cold Wars and a Thirty-Years Journey Through Romania and Beyond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Erdogan Rising: The Battle for the Soul of Turkey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire: The Inside Story of Europe's Last War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran's Global Ambitions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and the Legacy of the Six-Day War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Levant Express: The Arab Uprisings, Human Rights, and the Future of the Middle East Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chechnya and Dagestan: The History of the Chechen Republic and the Ongoing Conflict with Russia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The State of Israel vs. the Jews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Middle Eastern History For You
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Generation Kill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Islam: A Short History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Egyptian Mythology: An Enthralling Overview of Egyptian Myths, Gods, and Goddesses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Distant Lands: A Short History of the Crusades Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History of Israel – Palestine Conflict Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Beirut to Jerusalem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Terrorist Factory: ISIS, the Yazidi Genocide, and Exporting Terror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51967: Israel, the War, and the Year That Transformed the Middle East Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for The Man Who Created the Middle East
37 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Splendid and insightful. Repudiation of a man that has been blamed unjustly for the state of the middle east.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is an excellent book and very funny. Highly recommended
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good read with funny anecdotes. Left wanting more on the details of the Sykes-Picot agreement.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The detailed narrative about Mark’s Hykes
that led him to understand the different points of view, the religious, social, cultural and economic views and hopes of all the people living in the region., and the ability of the author to transmit them in an easy, understandable and enjoyable manner, as well as the conflicting, unsurmountable problems that are part of everyday conflicts in the Middle East.
How much does the world need a Mr. Hykes of his later stage, 1918, NOT 1916, which was still colonialist and abusive,
mediate, negotiate and make agreeements based on his approach of first knowing and study thorughly , in the field all the needs and ways of each party and then make thoughtful proposals based on the rights of all for independence, freedom, democracy and justice. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved reading this outstanding piece of history.
The author has meticulously recorded and elegantly presented the events. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Slightly disappointing biography of Sir Mark Sykes by his grandson. Sykes is a child of the British aristocratic class of his time: arrogant, bombastic, self-righteous. Nevertheless, the effects of his work can still be felt today and that is why this biography is worth reading. Moreover, it reads easily.