4/5

Finished this almost two weeks ago and I’m still chewing on it. 4 stars as my initial reaction definitely means there is something to this text, and I did find the conclusion and a lot of the arguments their author makes about Entente/Ally policy towards to Middle East compelling. That being said I think this really could have been a more definitive look at British Policy in the Islamic world more generally. While the author makes references to British policy in the Sudan and India, the attempts to link moves in the Levant to their experiences elsewhere is a little weak. The later half’s laser focus on the colonial conflict with France and the Palestinian question narrows the scope of the book in a way that seems like a missed opportunity to me.