The Arabs

A History

By: Eugene Rogan

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Length: 27 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.

Updated with a new epilogue, The Arabs is an invaluable, groundbreaking work of history.

©2009 Eugene Rogan; revised introduction and postscript copyright 2016 by Eugene Rogan (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Rogan eruditely furnishes Western readers with a background to current events." ( Booklist)

A must listen for anyone interested in current events

This book is an excellent overview of Arab history and should be listened to by anyone interested in, and confused by, current events in the Middle East. The only way to understand the present is to study the past. Well written, and well narrated.

Amazing capturing storyline!

Where does The Arabs rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the most captivating books I've listened to. I was skeptical about a 27 hour long book but I truly wanted this book to be even longer.

The storyline was so well done and fair. Zooming in on individual stories and zooming back out to the larger macro-political view.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Despite this being factual based, the book captured many "character" like stories throughout. For example, the story of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Muhammad Ali.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Glimpse of hope in a dark past.

Any additional comments?

Would have loved to hear about some of the major revolutions around the Arab world such as Omar Al Moukhtar and Sultan Basha Al Atrach but the book had so much to offer to offset this.

Very interesting and informative

Really enjoyed the book. The history regarding the second Iraq war was at best incomplete and one sided, and at worst biased to reflect the author's political views. The result was contradiction and confusion. The book was excellent up to the epilogue and the post script where it lost some of it's historical integrity.

Interesting and informative

This was my first dive into Arab history beyond general knowledge. My fear was that the sheer amount of information would be overwhelming, especially for a commute book. I was very pleased with the way information was presented. The performance kept my attention well during my commute.

The actual writing was excellent. I appreciate the interconnectedness of the region in a much greater way now and I'm looking forward to more books centered on Arabs.

an excellent overview of the history of the Arabs

this comprehensive overview of the history of the Arab Nations is a revelation for those who question and wonder what is going on currently in our world. Many of the questions that never seem to have an answer become clear once you have heard this comprehensive View.

A must read

For anyone who wishes to get insight into the most common trouble spots in the modern world this is an invaluable resource. The account is well written and audio rendition is excellent. A story like historical narrative in a reasonable detail provides good overview of the regional history. Professor Rogan has a special gift in narrating history. This book is yet another example of his remarkable accomplishments in this field.

Goes a very long way in explaining how the world got to where it is today.

A subtitle for this book could “Even when you do things with good intentions (from your point of view) things go bad.”

A bit too summarized and concise

Book consists of a collection of events in Arab history. I find it hard to draw a conclusion about whether any of these events are interrelated and the writing style is very summarized and concise, which I find a bit lacking in both depth and intrigue. I feel you would need to supplement further in depth studies in order to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of Arabs in general.

The Middle East

It has given me another perspective of the events that have taken place during my life time. Some one's National interest, is not necessarily the best interest for anyone else.

Biased but worthwhile

This is a good way to understand the Arab view of the last 200 odd years. It's extremely biased, though, once it gets past WWII. I'd say it goes from being a history of the Arabs to the Arab take on Israel with all the usual half-truths.

As just one example, in dealing with the peace negotiations of 2000 and 2001 the author says Israel offered more than ever before, but it wasn't enough. The author doesn't give an actual percentage or an explanation of why it wasn't enough. It is more a statement of opinion than an historical analysis or explanation. Throughout, he states it as a fact that Arafat wanted a two state solution without considering the alternative view that might explain Arafat's decision to not make peace in 2001.

That said, even going back to 1967 and particularly 1973 there are some interesting tidbits that I never knew before and do provide a different, useful perspective. I recommend this, but you have to be prepared to either get annoyed if you disagree or be aware of the bias if you don't already have an understanding of the history.