Notes on a Century: Reflections of a Middle East Historian

There are few historians like Bernard Lewis, who end up as historical actors in their own right. When we think of the Middle East, we see it in terms that he defined and articulated. In this exceptional memoir, the bestselling author of What Went Wrong? shares stories of his wartime service in London and Cairo as an intelligence officer for MI6. After the war, he was the first Western scholar to enter the Ottoman archives. He explains how he coined the phrase "clash of civilizations" in the 1950s, long before anyone imagined that political Islam would one day pose more of a threat than communism. Then September 11 catapulted him onto the world stage. Notes on a Century chronicles a time of spectacular upheaval in the Middle East-from the Second World War and the founding of Israel to the Iranian Revolution and the Arab Spring. Book jacket.