of Western imperialism, to the American invasion of Iraq and Iran’s new influence in the region. After introducing the reader to the region’s history from the origins of Islam in the seventh century, A History of the Modern Middle East focuses on the past two centuries of profound and often dramatic change. Although built around a framework of political history, the book also carefully integrates social, cultural, and economic developments into a single, expertly crafted account. In updating this fourth edition of the late William Cleveland’s popular introductory text, Martin Bunton addresses recent transformative developments in the Middle East, charting the decline in the peace prospects between Israelis and Palestinians, elaborating upon the resurgence of Islam, and devoting a new chapter to “America’s Troubled Moment in the Middle East,” which details the aftermath of the Iraq war and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

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