Listen free for 30 days

  • The Making of the Modern Middle East

  • A Personal History
  • By: Jeremy Bowen
  • Narrated by: Jeremy Bowen
  • Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (203 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The Making of the Modern Middle East cover art

The Making of the Modern Middle East

By: Jeremy Bowen
Narrated by: Jeremy Bowen
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Permanent Record cover art
Powers and Thrones cover art
Japan Story cover art
London cover art
Peacemakers cover art
The Great War cover art
The Battle of the Atlantic cover art
Who Rules the World? cover art
Cameron at 10: The Inside Story 2010 - 2015 cover art
The History of the SAS cover art
The Next Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy cover art
Good Pop, Bad Pop cover art
The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain cover art
The Dead Are Arising cover art
The Irrational Ape cover art
Adults in the Room cover art

Summary

This audio edition is read by the author, Jeremy Bowen.

A Spectator Book of the Year 2022

A New Statesman Book of the Year 2022

Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of the BBC, has been covering the Middle East since 1989 and is uniquely placed to explain its complex past and its troubled present.

In The Making of the Modern Middle East – in part based on his acclaimed podcast, ‘Our Man in the Middle East’ Bowen takes us on a journey across the Middle East and through its history. He meets ordinary men and women on the front line, their leaders, whether brutal or benign, and he explores the power games that have so often wreaked devastation on civilian populations as those leaders, whatever their motives, jostle for political, religious and economic control.

With his deep understanding of the political, cultural and religious differences between countries as diverse as Erdogan’s Turkey, Assad’s Syria and Netanyahu’s Israel and his long experience of covering events in the region, Bowen offers readers a gripping and invaluable guide to the modern Middle East, how it came to be and what its future might hold.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Jeremy Bowen (P)2022 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

Arresting . . . excellent, doom-freighted (Justin Marozzi)
Jeremy Bowen is one of the finest journalists and broadcasters of our age - qualities which shine through every page of this superb book. Written with modesty, grace and compassion, his account of 30 years working in the Middle East for the BBC combines his own personal experience with and a rare understanding of what makes this tortured region so dangerously combustible. His judgements are invariably balanced but when they are due he does not shrink from scathing criticisms of the key actors. The result is an illuminating and riveting read. (Jonathan Dimbleby, broadcaster, author and historian)
Bears witness to how lofty dreams of the post-Cold War period crashed and burned ... with deep empathy and understanding of the roots of the conflict (Emma Sky)

More from the same

What listeners say about The Making of the Modern Middle East

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    187
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    163
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    157
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So much to learn.

Reading this while waiting for the next phase of the latest Gaza - Israeli conflict, I found this book incredibly helpful in organizing my own thoughts about the Middle East. A well observed book, as you would hope from a journalist, with each chapter focussing on a country of area. But, Mr Bowen shows us that none of the countries of areas are a vacuum and all are dependent on the actions, good or bad, of their Middle Eastern neighbours and of course the US, Russia and now China. I could go on and on but all I'll say is I'm glad I purchased this audio book and even better for the authors narration. Five stars.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My eyes have been opened

Beautifully read by Jeremy Bowen. I thought I knew something about the Middle East but it turns out I knew very little. The events in the book are hard to hear but Jeremy brings insight into the trauma the Middle East has in the past experienced and still endures to this day. It becomes easier to see the threads from the present back into the past making more sense of the conflicts. If not apparent before he shows us the effect of outside influences and the constant meddling from the West. Definitely worth a read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Comprehensive but slightly biased

This is a very informative guide to the Middle East. Unfortunately, toward the end of the book, the writer tilts to being too biased against Israel. The final chapters on Gaza, unfortunately, veer away from journalism and into outright activism.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brutal and bloody

As a familiar BBC correspondent in the Middle East for decades you know that Jeremy Bowen knows what he’s talking about. An excellent explanation of the problems of the Middle East. The blood and brutality can be overwhelming at times, but Bowen’s insightful analysis is invaluable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely brilliant.

Watched the program Our man in the middle east years ago. This book was 1000 times better. Loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Highly respected journalism

I have long liked and respected Jeremy Bowen and this did not disappoint. While very much personal experience, this is classic journalism in the sense or reporting rather than the opinion forced down your throat of modern media.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A front seat view of a troubled history.

Fabulous and balanced perspective with an deep historical perspective. The narration was excellent…only someone who lived this fascinating account could have delivered it passionately. I have listened to it twice…and will do so again. Thank you Jeremy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting

A deeply humane and engaging journey over the recent years in the ME with threads and histories explained. It leaves us in the west ashamed of our part in its troubles - our bad decisions that suited our wants - without underestimating the self-centred cruelty of countries’ leaders. Absorbing and enlightening, thank you Mr Bowen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A brilliant sweeping modern history

This sweeping history of the Middle East is authoritative, subtle and interweaves hard facts and personal testimonies.

Jeremy Bowen is a journalist of the very highest calibre.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing but hard

Hard not to lose all Hope going from crisis to crisis. You feel for the Middle Eastern people and wonder what the answer is before you cry a little more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful