“A Concise History of the Middle East”, by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr., Lawrence Davidson

576 pages, Westview Press, ISBN-13: 978-0813342757

Be warned: while A Concise History of the Middle East is an extremely readable textbook by Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr. and Lawrence Davidson, it is still a textbook, NOT a popular history intended for a wide audience. While dry and unexciting at best, what this book is best at is background…and it certainly is a rich background, one that I knew little of before. In clear and descriptive (though still rather academic) language, the authors describe the Middle East both before and after Muhammad and the basic beliefs of Islam, describes the early Arab conquests and the differences between the many Islamic sects, the rise and fall of the various Islamic empires, the roles of European interests and Westernizing influences on the region, an excellent understanding of the various the countries of the region and their shifting borders, and finally brings us up to date on the causes and conflicts of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Gulf War (this is the eight edition, published in 2005).

The first half of the book, detailing the birth, spread and rise of non-Arab empires (the Mongol, Safavid and Ottoman empires) is a bit rushed; I wish greater attention was given the intellectual achievements of the era, but as the title states, it is a concise history. The book really hits its stride mid-way through, as Goldschmidt and Davidson discuss the politics of the Middle East in the 20^th Century. The reasons behind Middle Eastern anti-Westernism are complicated, with the intersecting web of resentments, issues, past slights and misinterpretations being difficult to clearly explain. In a little over 100 pages, however, the main points are well laid out, and provide a solid foundation for further study. To summarize: the European “mandate system”, driven by British and French imperial designs in the region, in addition to the cultural and economic disparities between urban and rural parts of the Middle East and competing visions among Arabs themselves of what the region should look like (particularly a “pan-Arab” nation led by…whom? Egypt? Syria?) and missteps by the United States – added to, in my view, the inability of Arabs today to get over slights from centuries ago – all conspired to create a wide variety of competing and often hostile camps that perpetuate instability to this day. I was particularly impressed with Goldschmidt and Davidson history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and its relation to Arab power politics between Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The perspectives and attitudes between nations and their leaders were clearly and concisely laid out. In my view, this was the real strength of the book.

However, there are causes for misgivings. As a textbook it suffers by arguing with previous, unnamed historians about interpretations of certain events; without any clear references, these arguments add little to the narrative. Also, the authors mar the overall subject by maintaining a multiculturalist view of the Mideast; while Islam and Arabs did indeed produce marvelous science, mathematics, and philosophy, the authors continually extoll these over the accomplishments of Western Civilization. This bias isn’t merely a matter of viewpoint, but a conscious effort on the part of the authors to denigrate the accomplishments of the West in favor of those from the Mideast. This presentation, especially when dealing with current politics, turns a blind side to real understanding of contemporary events. Still and all, A Concise History of the Middle East is perhaps the most effective book you will find to learn about the Middle East. It is well written, concise (considering the breadth of time and geography covered), and informative, and makes a good starting point for anyone interested about the Middle East and Central Asia.

“Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times”, by Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally

261 pages, Little, Brown and Company, ISBN-13: 978-0316286558

Like most modern readers and movie fans, I was pretty familiar with Bram Stoker's Dracula as, first and foremost, a stock horror character, but as an amateur student of history I was always much more intrigued by the man alluded to by the books and films; namely, Prince Vlad III, alias Vlad the Impaler, alias Dracula. In Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times by co-authors Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally, many missing details fill in the gaps on the upbringing, history, family and place in the world of Eastern Europe and the Carpathian Mountains of Vlad Țepeș. The narrative is clear and well written and it is not too academic in tone, summarizing and explaining as it does a rather opaque and complex history in an unknown part of the world (to most Americans, at any rate) while citing actual contemporary sources to give more life and flavor an already exciting story. And you can ask for no two better guides, either, for Florescu and McNally are, perhaps, the greatest modern experts on Dracula one can have the fortune to encounter, telling one everything from the nature of Bram Stoker’s novel – which they cover in the introduction to ease the reader into place – as well as the obscure details of history involving this semi-mythicized man, such as passionate jousts in which Dracula’s father took place or the education of the young prince impaler. Regrettably, Prince of Many Faces is not written in chronological order; events jump around, as do dates, so one unfamiliar with the history of Romania and the Impaler should be wary, but to a well-researched scholar on the topic of Vlad Dracula, or someone well-read but curious, this book is a great aid. Overall, Florescu and McNally succeeded in writing the greatest book on Dracula in the English language.

“The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”, by Stuart Evans & Keith Skinner

692 pages, Carroll & Graf, ISBN-13: 978-0786707683

More a reference book for specialists than an introduction to Jack the Ripper’s crimes for general readers, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion: An Illustrated Encyclopedia is a compendium of primary sources that includes inquest transcripts, police reports and memos, contemporary newspaper accounts, letters (purportedly) from the Ripper himself, crime scene photographs, and other illustrations. Forget all the other Jack the Ripper books you have read in the past that focus on a particular suspect, and instead read the original source material provided in this book, for after having read the unadulterated, unedited primary source material culled from the Ripper Files and first hand newspaper accounts of the inquests, you will get a much truer picture of what took place than you will from the other books. Sadly, you won’t find much in the way of new evidence in this book, though you may be able to resolve in your mind certain disputes, such as the degree of anatomical knowledge the Ripper had, whether or not he wrote the Goulston Street Graffiti, or whether-or-not he was involved with both murders of the “double event”. But you will also find pages of minutiae better left out; for instance, should the police have offered a reward for information from the public, or no? That this question might prove of historical interest to someone studying the police administration of the times may very well be true, but it provides nothing towards furthering the inquiry of the case for the rest of us. An index and detailed table of contents make the material easy to navigate, while an appendix gives useful biographies of senior police and Home Office officials involved in the investigation. Familiar suspects who were considered at the time – such as Montague John Druitt or George Chapman – appear, but suspects identified by later theorists – such Walter Sickert or the Duke of Clarence – do not. If you are looking for truth rather than entertainment value, this is one of the top books on the Ripper that you can find.