Arabia, the Gulf & the West

by John Barrett Kelly

Book Overview

New. A Critical View of the Arabs and Their Oil Policy. J.B. Kelly. 530 pages. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465004164
• ISBN13: 9780465004164
• Release Date: April 1991
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 530 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

old but valuable

JB Kelly provides an excellent overview of Middle East relations with the United States during the 1960's and 1970's. Although written before the fall of the Shah it still is a valuable contribution to the scholarship of the Middle East. It is one of the few books that really provides a close look at how the Arabian peninsula developed with Saudi Arabia and the smaller territories. This followed the British withdraw from the peninsula with most notably the transformation of Aden. For those who are studying the Middle East this is a great starting point to have a historical handle on how the problems developed pre 1979. Kelly is one of the foremost political experts in the area and the fact that this was primarily a British zone of influence for most of this time makes his view as a brit all the more valuable. Overall an excellent addition to the scholarship and still worth a look even today.

Old but still a classic

This is becoming out of date (1980), yet it's still the best book I've seen on the modern political history of the Arabian Peninsula. The 500-plus pages cover such topics as the British departure from Aden (Yemen) and the Trucial Coast (now UAE), Oman's civil war in Dhufar, Saudi-UAE border disputes, OPEC in the 70s, and an overview of the current political situation in the various countries. Iran and Iraq also receive substantial coverage, but the greatest emphasis is on Saudi Arabia and the minor Gulf states. There are five maps. Although much has happened since the book was written -- namely the Gulf War -- this remains the classic introduction to the region's politics for the serious reader.