Beach Reads: The Fall of the Ottomans

The Fall of the Ottomans
By Eugene Rogan
History/Middle east/WW1
Pub Date: 03/10/2015
Hard Cover $32.00

Rogan’s comprehensive and detailed history is a sweeping narrative of the battles and political intrigue from Gallipoli to Arabia. The Fall of the Ottomans, is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Great War and the making of the modern Middle East.

Rogan walks through the opening salvos of the war, at Basra, Aden and Egypt, showing the Ottoman defensive vulnerability. He details the Allied debacle at Gallipoli, a reckless campaign. The further campaigns in Mesopotamia, Suez and Palestine could not be dismissed as mere sideshows by the Allies hoping for a quick victory, but produced through the Arab revolt galvanized by T. E. Lawrence an uneasy armistice and partition that promised to be deeply divisive to the current day. Absolutely fascinating reading not only about World War I, but also about the region, culture, politics and religions of so many disparate people.

You can find this book and many other great reads at Cape Atlantic Book Company, located at 421 Washington St, Cape May, NJ 08204. For book availability and other information call 609-846-7688.