As Western powers attempt to redraw the map of the Middle East, Dan Smith uses his forensic skills to unravel this arena of confrontation and instability, from the Ottoman Empire to the present day. With customarily acute analysis, he highlights key issues and maps their global implications to explain why this region has become, and will remain, the focal point for international relations.

Updated Topics Include:

* Demographic data

* The Israel-Palestine situation

* The current war in Iraq

* The situation in Lebanon

* Refugees and migration

* Islam in the world

Copub: Myriad Editions

Dan Smith is Secretary-General of International Alert and former Director of the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo. He is author of The State of the World Atlas and The Atlas of War and Peace.

Praise for the previous edition:

"Concise yet detailed . . . . The information contained within these pages is easy to comprehend and is essential knowledge for anyone wanting to better understand the politics and history of this volatile region."—History in Review

"This book is filled with readable graphs and colorful maps that pinpoint everything from regional ethnic and language groups to military spending and urbanization."—Utne

"Successfully educates the reader about the Middle East region and the conflicts, both historical and modern, that have led to the current situation in this part of the world."—Library Journal

Praise for Dan Smith’s other atlases:

“The State of the World Atlas is something else—an occasion of wit and an act of subversion. These are the bad dreams of the modern world, given color and shape and submitted to a grid that can be grasped instantaneously.”—New York Times

“A compact, versatile and politically imaginative work of reference.”—New Statesman

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