Last Chance: The Middle East in the Balance

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As Barack Obama seeks to chart a new course in American foreign policy, one of the English language media's most respected authorities on the Arab world, David Gardner, addresses the controversial but urgent question: why is the Middle East so dysfunctional And what can be done about it Clear-sighted, never flinching from unpalatable truths, Gardner draws on his acute grasp of history and decades of experience covering the region to look at why conflict, despotism and sectarianism continue to flourish in the Arab world whilst as they decline everywhere else. The 'Middle East exception' is, he argues, a product of the West's own making. By supporting tyrants, fueling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and demonizing democratically elected Islamist parties, the West in general but specifically America has incubated a region inherently resistant to economic and political reform, and suppurating with resentment. As the Obama administration plans its Middle East policy, Gardner argues for nothing less than a total reappraisal of what realpolitik means. The traditional shibboleths: support Israel, mollify the Saudis, suppress Islamism, simply will not do in the 21st century, he argues. Both an introduction to the modern Middle East and an impassioned polemic, "Last Chance" is essential reading for anyone concerned with the future of the region. 'This book should be in the hand baggage of every one of President Obama's Middle East negotiators' - Jon Snow, Channel 4.

Reviews

'Timely, absorbing, and deeply disturbing Last Chance is central to any understanding of the problems and prospects of the Middle East in the 21st century.' - Avi Shlaim, Professor of International Relations, St Antony's College, Oxford 'David Gardner's book is the most lively, well-informed and controversial overview of the Middle East to appear for several years. It will instruct, entertain, but also infuriate many readers, because his rapier thrusts invariably strike home. To understand this turbulent region, this is a must read. David Gardner is one of Britain's leading foreign affairs experts. His sources are unique, his range awesome and his indictment of Arab tyranny and Western connivance devastating and unanswerable.' - Patrick Seale. 'This book should be in the hand baggage of every one of President Obama's Middle East negotiators.' - Jon Snow, Channel 4 'Yet, having read this beautifully written, page-turner of a book, I find myself clinging desperately to a few shards of hope. We can; really we can.' - Chris Patten, FINANCIAL TIMES

Author Bio

David Gardner is Chief Leader Writer and Associate Editor at the Financial Times. He was the paper s Middle East Editor from 1995-1999. In 2003 he won the David Watt prize for political journalism for his writing on the Arab world.