Soldier in the Sand: A Personal History of the Modern Middle East

Abstract

Simon Mayall’s Soldier in the Sand: A Personal History of the Modern Middle East is an impressive study of the region seen through the eyes of a senior British Army officer and Arabist. Neither an autobiography nor a history – nor indeed a travelogue – it incorporates elements of all three genres. Very much a ‘sandwich cake’ book, it comprises rich layers of intricate geopolitics interspersed with fascinating personal vignettes drawn from a diverse and distinguished military life – with more than a hint of T E Lawrence (as an undergraduate, Mayall shared his interest in Crusader castles) penetrating its pages. Dropping names and places at a breathtaking pace, he provides a series of trenchant and largely justified criticisms of British foreign and defence policy since the withdrawal from East of Suez in the early 1970s. A good set of monochrome maps and photographs, together with a comprehensive glossary of Arab expressions, assist the reader.