In 1914, the European powers were inexorably sliding towards war, dragging the entire Middle East into the funnel of this destructive conflict. In his book, Eugene Rogan presents the history of the First World War, revealing the consequences that it led to in the Middle East, and the decisive - but little known to us - role that the region played in it. The well-known British historian tells vividly and fascinatingly about the political intrigues and military battles that unfolded in the Ottoman lands from the Gallipoli Peninsula to Arabia. Unlike trench warfare on the Western Front, fighting in the Middle East was dynamic and unpredictable. Before military fortunes turned to face the powers of the Entente, the Turks inflicted crushing defeats on the Gallipoli Peninsula, in Mesopotamia and Palestine. The post-war settlement led to the division of the Ottoman Empire and laid the foundation for those irreconcilable contradictions that to this day tear apart the Arab world. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the history of World War I and the phenomenon of today's Middle East.