Product Description

With comprehensive illustrations, this is a lively and essential update of a valued work, providing an excellent synopsis and critique of the complexities which have made this an intriguing and important regional geographical study.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2225419 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 342 pages

Review
'Well written and well informed ... a useful introduction to the Middle East.' - Regional Studies

From the Back Cover
The Middle East has been the focus of international attention for a number of reasons. Historically it was a central meeting place of the three Old World continents. More recently it has become the worlds premier geopolitical flashpoint for two major reasons: (i) the establishment of the state of Israel centrally in the Arab core of a region which is overwhelmingly Islamic, and (ii) the realization by a few Middle Eastern states that, between them, they possess the worlds major reserves of petroleum.
Although the focus is on geopolitics rather than regional geography, the aim of the book is to provide a reorientation, while maintaining an essential continuity with W.B. Fishers book of the same name, the seventh edition of which was published in 1978. A comprehensive account is provided of the physical and human geography of the region and, in this, certain sections from Fishers book have been retained. Based on the geography, a geopolitical assessment is then made of the states of the Middle East a