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Inside the Middle East

Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region on Earth

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Inside the Middle East

By: Avi Melamed
Narrated by: Vikas Adam
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About this listen

Acclaimed Israeli intelligence analyst Avi Melamed has spent more than 30 years interpreting Middle East affairs. His long-awaited Inside the Middle East challenges widely accepted perceptions and provides a gripping and uniquely enlightening guide to make sense of the events unfolding in the region.

Melamed considers all the major power players in the Middle East, explains the underlying issues, and creates a three-dimensional picture, an illustration that connects the dots and provides a fascinating road map. He elucidates developments such as the Arab Spring, the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood, the rise of ISIS, the epic Sunni-Shiite animosity, the essence of the war in Syria, the role of the Caliphate and Jihad, and the looming nuclear arms race. He also provides a rare opportunity to journey into the psyche of Arab society.

This unparalleled volume is a milestone in our understanding of the Middle East. It is the untold story of the struggles that will shape the region, and the world, for decades to come, and a groundbreaking guide that will shake you to the core, force you to reevaluate your outlook, and give you tips to navigate the future.

©2016 Avi Melamed (P)2016 Tantor Freedom & Security Israel & Palestine Judaism Middle East Political Science Politics & Government World National Security War Iran Africa Royalty Middle Ages Refugee Ottoman Empire Imperialism Military Espionage Crusade

Critic reviews

"Avi Melamed's inside knowledge of the Middle East makes him a vital resource for anyone striving to find accurate context for today's news from one of the world's most intractable battle zones." (Linda Solomon Wood, Editor-In-Chief at the National Observer)
All stars
Most relevant
Well narrated. The author challenges thinking and sets out arguments, which provoke thought. There is a biased view expressed here, given the subject matter it is difficult to find a body of work without such bias. Worth a listen/read as part of wider research in to the region. Keep an open mind.

Worth investing the time...needs to be balanced with other writers on the subject

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Sobering and prescient in some cases at this time of the Israel-Hamas war. Melamed gives us insights about Middle East's sociopolitical culture, the jostling for influence by Iran and the Arabs, and how Palestinians are pawns in a grand game of chess.

A Whirlwind Tour of the Middle East

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The history, culture and politics of the middle east is, and has always been a challenging subject to write/talk about.

I think this author draws a delicate and non partisan line. Although, I would disagree with some of his analysis, "in a wider context and with some hindsight"

This book was published in 2016, and I wonder now if some of the analysis was premature.

His insights are fascinating.

I found a lot of the author's insights interesting, and I learned things I didn't know before.

That's kind of the point of a book like this.

If you want a three dimensional understanding.

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Absolute partisan pish. I would have stopped listening sooner, but I was driving, so couldn’t switch it off.

Biased. Load of sh1te.

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The title is so wrong... The book seems to be more about the superiority of Israel in the wide context of Middle East rather than the objective analysis of the turbulent presence of the region. waste of credit for anyone who wants to learn about Middle East.

So obviously bias, salesy and one sided.

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