Sowing the Wind: The Seeds of Conflict in the Middle East - Hardcover

John Keay's most recent works have been on south and southeast Asia, notably Last Post: The End of Empire in the Far East and the best-selling The Great Arc.

'A witty, thoroughly informed and agreeably detached account of a subject both serious and extremely interesting ! John Keay's sweeping, breathless but always entertaining and acute study of the West's various interventions in the region is going to be a great help, and it quietly justifies its title by quietly suggesting that the net result of these interventions in the course of the 20th Century was less than productive' -- Spectator, Peter Hensher 20030606 'Using a wealth of finely selected memoirs and anecdotes, to a remarkable degree John Keay pulls off the impossible. While always alert to the seriousness of his subject matter, he nonetheless manages to evoke countless individuals, some well known (T E Lawrence, General Allenby), some only half-remembered (Gertrude Bell, Glubb Pasha), and some the preserve of specialists (A T Wilson, Loy Henderson). Albert Einstein and E M Forster are among many who put in guest appearances. Keay repeatedly joining up yesterday's dots with missing sand lines' -- Sunday Times 20030622 'John Keay's new history of the British in the modern Middle East is the best for almost 40 years' -- Guardian 20030621 'Keay's book is exemplary in its commitment to telling the story of Western -- during this period, primarily British -- intervention in the Middle East' -- John McTernan, Scotland on Sunday 20030608 'An impressive account ! an excellent synthesis of the vast body of work on how the west planted the seeds of the Middle East's conflicts. Keay excels at explaining the broader political context of events' -- New Statesman 20030608 'John Keay has created a brilliant narrative that mixes sound historical judgement with an ability to see through self-serving cant and has assembled an extraordinary cast of characters' -- Glasgow Sunday Herald 20030608 'Grand in scope and notable in achievement ! with erudition and wit, Keay provides as impartial an introduction to the complex Arab-Israeli relationship as possible' -- LA Times 20031001 'Offers an insight both enthralling and scholarly' -- Traveller Magazine 20030701 'Keay has a light touch and a gift for weaving together the complex strands of the story in a compelling ... way' -- Royal Society for Asian Affairs 20031101 'Keay's fluid prose breathes life into this subject' -- The Glasgow Herald 20040214 'Keay tells a story ... in an engagingly original way' -- Royal Society for Asian Affairs 20031101