Small Wars, Faraway Places: Global Insurrection and the Making of the Modern World, 1945-1965

Michael Burleigh (Get this book)
Acclaimed historian Burleigh returns with a feisty review of two decades of decolonialization. This was "a crucial transitional era in which power tangibly passed from European capitals to the 'World Capital on the Potomac.'"Entertaining, informative and refreshingly devoid of partisan advocacy, Burleigh offers a persuasive explanation of how America assumed the mantle of policeman of the developing world.--Kirkus

A Concise History of the Arabs

John McHugo (Get this book)
A sympathetic, methodical distillation of Arab history that tries to get at the roots of the current East-West dysfunction. British Arabist, lawyer and researcher McHugo refutes Bernard Lewis' claim of a "clash of civilizations," bemoaning the notion as emerging from prejudice and misunderstanding of the original meanings of the terms jihad and crusade. The author includes maps and a glossary of Arabic terms. Purposeful, insightful and tremendously useful, complete with an excellent bibliographic essay.--Kirkus