Places, People, and Politics (5th edition)
A book by Colbert Held and John Cumming
People who are not from the region are often puzzled by the Middle East. To outsiders, and to some locals as well, the perennial problems in Cyprus, Palestine, Israel, Iran or Lebanon, and the current events in places such as Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Libya or Yemen may seem impenetrable. This, along with the strategic, political and cultural importance of the region, is why a new edition of Middle East Patterns is especially welcome.
The book, which examines the region’s history, geography, international relations and economics, is co-authored by Colbert Held and John Cummings, Americans who are anything but strangers to the area. Held was employed for 15 years as a United States Foreign Service officer, with assignments in Iran, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, as well as many temporary missions throughout the region; Cummings, who has taught economics at universities in Iraq and the United States, spent nearly three decades in the Middle East working with the US government and the World Bank.
Despite its many incarnations, the basic framework of Middle East Patterns has remained consistent over the last three decades; the examination of the whole region first from a topical perspective and then country-by-country is successfully preserved in the latest version. The region’s ethnographic, economic and geopolitical patterns, with a focus on natural resources, are well covered. On top of this, the book is now enriched by a new economic emphasis: in addition to looking at the “places, peoples and politics” invoked by its subtitle, the fifth edition contains fresh material on socio-economic development and political economy, which in turn complements new sections on topics such as terrorism and piracy.
Syria is the first to be considered — in a chapter tellingly entitled “Middle East Heartland,” ending with a wise summary of the country’s position today: “Despite its own ambiguities, and despite the external efforts to marginalize it, Syria persists as a key historical and geopolitical player in the region.”
While outside perceptions often fail to take into account the region’s true complexities, Middle East Patterns presents a comprehensive and unbiased picture of its nations. The chapter on Iran in particular is a healthy antidote to Western vituperation of countries in the region whose policies are uncongenial, not to mention the oversimplification by foreign media of things Middle Eastern.
Also including a thorough bibliography, many tables, a copious index and numerous footnotes, the book is no intellectual lightweight. (The current version of Middle East Patterns is weighty in the literal sense as well, having gained more than 40 pages on the 646 pages of the 4th edition, which was published in 2006.)
So whether for a foreign student, a globetrotting manager of a multinational, or just a Western television viewer tired of hearing the region summed up in clichés, Middle East Patterns is a valuable reference. And for a serious non-regional reader who is ready to consume well-written books cover-to-cover but only has time to look at one volume on the Middle East, the work of Held and Cummings could be the best bet. But the best compliment that can be given to Middle East Patterns is that it can also be read, with great interest, by a Middle Easterner.
