100 Myths
About the Middle East
by Fred Halliday

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Read the New Internationalist assessment: Mixed Media review

Much has been written in recent years about the Middle East. At the same time, no other region has been as misunderstood, nor framed in so many clichés and mistakenly-held beliefs.

In this much-needed exposé Fred Halliday selects one hundred of the most commonly misconstrued 'facts' - in the political, cultural, social and historical spheres - and illuminates each case without compromising its underlying complexities. The Israel-Palestine crisis, the Iran-Iraq war, the US-led Gulf incursions, the Afghan-Soviet conflict and other significant milestones in modern Middle East history come under scrutiny here, with conclusions that will surprise and enlighten many for going so persuasively against the grain.

Fred Halliday is professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and author of numerous books, including The World at 2000, The Middle East in International Relations and Two Hours that Shook the World. A leading authority on superpower relations, development issues, the Middle East and IR theory he is a prolific lecturer and broadcaster, and writes regular columns for opendemocracy.net.

"A splendidly simple and direct - and yet profoundly erudite - debunking of what 'everybody knows' about this most contested part of the world."
New Internationalist Best of 2005

"Fred Halliday's brilliant Two Hours that Shook the World was one of the most welcome books published in the aftermath of 9/11. In his new book he debunks 100 of the most pernicious 'facts' about the Middle East in his characteristically quiet, straightforward and efficient way." Bookseller.

"If Fred Halliday's book doesn't act as an all-time corrective in the ongoing process of understanding and being understood, nothing will ... the distilled outcome of the author's many years of scholarship." Eastern Art Report.

"In this pithy book Halliday tackles most of the myths in just one or two pages of tight argument." Saudi Gazette.

"Fascinating reading - Challenging proverbial 'wisdom', pat answers and politically motivated lies, he addresses 100 common misconceptions about the Middle East and how the region figures into US and European foreign policy." Jordan Times.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 267
Size: 133 mm x 210 mm