Estranged Bedfellows
Britain and France in the Middle East during the Second World War
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:6th Dec '90
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The Anglo-French clash in the Middle East during the Second World War not only marked a turning point in the region's political development, but also became a sticking point in wartime relations between the two powers. British and Free French troops united to seize control of the Vichy regime's Middle Eastern possessions in a bloody campaign in 1941. But the alliance was an uneasy one, as the British tried to enlist the growing forces of Arab nationalism to wrest control of Syria and Lebanon from the Free French. The European alliance against the Germans was repeatedly strained by mutual suspicion in a colonial conflict which both powers were bound to lose. Drawing on newly opened archival sources, Roshwald skilfully clarifies the complex mixture of colonial political manoeuvres, personal clashes, and Arab nationalism that shaped this critical period in Middle Eastern history.
'The research behind this work is impressive. Roshwald has not only used British and French archives but also consulted American and Israeli holdings. The documentation is thorough, and enough anecdotes have been culled from the papers to ease the reader through a complex tale ... it is an invaluable foundation for study of the changing British and French roles in the region.' W. Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham, French History, Volume 5, No. 4, Dec '91
'extremely well-researched and well-written book ... Roshwald has done an excellent job in directing the reader through the maze of conflicting political and personal considerations that governed British policy-making ... an excellent study and will surely become the standard work on this subject' Asher Susser, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 29, No. 1, Jan '93
Like all war stories it is a riveting saga. His book is well-constructed, copiously documented, objective and not bemused by hindsight. * The British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies *
ISBN: 9780195062663
Dimensions: 167mm x 162mm x 31mm
Weight: 643g
328 pages