FDR and the End of Empire: The Origins of American Power in the Middle East (The World of the Roosevelts)

Beginning with the final days of Europe’s imperial presence in the Middle East, this powerfully relevant historical study explores the growth of American interests in the region and the ways they intersected with decolonization and the rise of Arab nationalism. Based on extensive archival research in Great Britain and the United States, it surveys the American effort to challenge British and French power in the region and Washington’s emerging wartime relationships with Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Levant states. It also provides a fascinating and often surprising look at FDR’s views on the Middle East; is relations with Egypt’s King Farouk, the Shah of Iran, and King Ibn Saud; and his conflicts with Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle over the future of the region.