Repeatedly in the twentieth century, Britain has been involved in the Middle East greater than any other external power. In his "Britain's War in the Middle East, Strategy and Diplomacy 1936-42", Martin Kolinsky focuses on the whole major issues of the period, presenting for each an illuminating analysis and his research in depth. The issues include:

- British Strategic Policy, 1936-38, - Political Uncertainties in Egypt during the Interwar Period, - Palestine 1936-38: the Reshaping of British Policy, - The Policy of Appeasement : the White Paper on Palestine and Jewish Refugees, - British Strategic Policy, 1939-June 1940, - Defence Issues in Egypt and Palestine, 1939-40, - British Strategic Policy, July 1940-June 1941, - British Intervention in Egyptian Politics, - Wartime Policy towards Palestine,

Britain's War in the Middle East allows the reader to see the making of British foreign policy and to understand it as a process that was shaped by interactions with the countries of the region before and during the first years of the Second World War. As Martin Kolinsky explained in his masterful study of British strategy and diplomacy, in this period, Britain was caught between the contingencies of global warfare and growing nationalist pressures in the Middle East. Indeed, the dominance which Britain established in the Middle East after the great war was seriously challenged during the years 1936-42. In those crucial seven years, Britain's position was confronted by a formidable combination of internal and external threats, arising from new currents of Arab nationalism and from Axis pressures and military operations. The use of a rich collection of original documents and Kolinsky's inspired scholarship makes this book indispensable for historians, researchers and students. It builds and draws on the author's earlier works on both before and after the period in concern ("Britain and the Middle East in the 1930s" and "Demise of the British Empire in the Middle East 1943-55" [co-editor with Michael J. Cohen in these books] and "Law, Order and Riots in Mandatory Palestine, 1928-35") and adds new information to this extraordinarily complex subject.

While Jack McTague does work for one of the most unastounding universities in the country, his own abilities as both a teacher and a writer ought not be undervalued.

In his book, British policy In Palestine, Dr. McTague evaluates in clear and deliberate prose those factors and key players that took a leading part in the shaping of the current Arab-Israeli conflict. For it is in these years that the roots of the conflict have their origin. The book itself is a thorough evaluation of these years, with interesting analyses of both the characters and the moral problematics that color the conflict.

It is, without a doubt, an excellent piece of prose delivered by an academic that deserves a far more intellectually exciting environment than he is currently privy to.

Studies of Buddhism in China continue to flourish, and this is an excellent collection of essays that showcase the strengths of a historically-informed understanding of this religious tradition. Hawaii continues to lead the field in its publication of high-quality monographs and essay-collections on Buddhism. Some of the essays in the collection are stronger than others, though on the whole, this is a quite readable scholarly work. Shinohara's essay is especially good.

This book is an exceptional introduction for the beginner in Buddhism. It covers all the major points in a form that is easily understood. The author clearly has a deep understanding of Buddhism, but has gone to great lengths to write in a style that is accessible to the average person. Highly recommended for those beginning their study of this fascinating religion.

This is a superb study of the process of building consensus for liberalisation in Egypt. Though consensus building is central to many important areas of inquiry, both within Political Science and throughout the social sciences, it is a process that, as el-Mikawy rightfully points out, is insufficiently understood. This finely written, argued, and documented study makes an important contribution to our understanding of 'who consents to what and how', and of 'how consensus is achieved and why'. El-Mikawy brings to this investigation detailed knowledge both of modern Egypt and of contemporary social theory and comparative politics. Drawing on insights from, among others, Giovanni Sartori, Guillerno O'Donnell, Albert Hirschman, and Phillippe Schmitter, she masterfully weaves theoretical critique and theory building with her empirical case materials. Amid the mountains of academic books on the Middle East that crowd our library and bookstore shelves, few provide as scholarly, sustained, theoretically grounded, and empirically rich an analysis of factors critical to political development and change in the region. The book illuminates factors relevant, not only to political development, but also to the Middle East 'peace process', the emergence of civil society, and other aspects of contemporary Middle East politics.

Kaegi broke the habitual insights into the early breakdown of the Byzantine Empire that usually "blame" external factors such as Armenian disertion, Christian Arabs flight from the battlefield, or even natural catastrophy. The book points out that the Muslims have done everything to secure victory, they even played down the political traps neatly set by the Greeks. Also, the Byzantines' weaknesses and strategic flaws were thoroughly explained without the usual "blame-it-on-someone/something" basis.

A much clearer picture of what went on in the frontline (or rather front cities) and temporary Byzantine's headquarter at Antioch was presented excellently. Along with what the Muslims' Generals carefully thought about their disintegrating, once formidable, foe. A must for anyone interested on the field, a necessity for any researcher looking for a fresh approach on the subject

Paul Stephenson reached several conclusions that are really revolutionary for the study of the Byzantine administration in the Balkan provinces. The increasing interest for the Balkan history (not only for the modern times) denotes the need to understand the roots of the present conflicts. Stephenson's book explains how and why the disintegration of the Byzantine administration and the emergence of the ethnic states in the Balkans were possible. His main idea is that "Byzantine authority was almost always exercised through existing local power structures". Can we consider these surviving local structures to be a cause of the future Balkan separatism, even if they were not always the expression of "national" solidarities ? We think so, because also the Ottoman administration preserved and used in its interest the power of some Albanian, Serbian and Bosniac local potentates, after their conversion to Islam and even before. Stephenson has payed a special attention to the significance of the frontier as an ideological limit between the civilized world and the barbarians. He also introduces a new concept: the internal frontiers of the territories mastered by the local authochtonous rulers by whom the Byzantine administration was exerted. The book brings valuable arguments for the new interpretation of the 11th century supported by P. Lemerle and more recently by M. Angold against Ostrogorsky's old viewpoint. Stephenson shows that the shift to 'civilian' government was not a decline, because "the Byzantine economy was growing rapidly" and that the defence policy based on warfare was replaced with a more adecquate policy based on trade and gifts for the barbarians ("traiding, not raiding"). He considers that Basil II left a poisoned legacy: a too large and expensive army, and that his 'civilian' successors tried to transform the general strategy after the hard Pecheneg inroads of 1036, when became obvious that a classical limes is not useful. Unlike many works of Byzantine political history, this book gives much attention to the rich archaeological and numismatic evidence, carefully used in order to supply the scarcity of the literary sources. Some points are disputable or even wrong, but, generally speaking, the use of archaeology led him to important conclusions I consider that the most important Stephenson's contributions concern the history of the Paradunavon province (in northern Bulgaria and Dobrudja) and the Byzantine-Hungarian relations in the 12th century. Other subjects dealt in are: the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria, the restoration of this state after the rebellion led by the Vlach rulers Peter and Asan in the form of a Romanian-Bulgarian state, the small Slavic principalities in the Serbian lands. Albeit a high-scientific work, this book can easily be read by any people interested in the medieval history. We can be sure that this book will be considered a major contribution to the history of the South-Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages.

Dr. Alexandru Madgearu

I could not have asked for a better companion when I traveled in Egypt this spring. Michael Haag is a real expert; his guide is packed with informed comments and fascinating insights. And the practical information is extremely helpful and accurate. I recommend this book very highly.

I have many non egyptian friends .... I found that most of them use this book when they come to cairo, I asked them if this book is helpful they said "YES" .... I opened it I found the maps so easy to use. If you decided to visit cairo you had to buy this book.

Most people who are in love with children's picture books are aware that the Caldecott award is given for the illustrations in picture books. This book gives the origins of the award and the guidelines for selection of the Caldecott Award-winning book.It analyzes specific illustrators/books that have been deemed Caldecott worthy over the past centuries including Chris van Allsburg, Marcia Brown, and David Weisner. Included at the end is a chronological list of every book awarded the prestigious Caldecott award. This is a great supplement to anyone's children's library. It gives great insight into the minds of these incredibly talented illustrators.