The Persian Gulf in the Twentieth Century.

FIRST EDITION. 8vo. (21.5 x 14 cm). pp.vii+[i]+280. Publisher's original burgundy cloth, spine lettered in gilt, in the unclipped dustjacket. Two folding maps to rear. Old presentation inscription to flyleaf. Some light wear to edges of dust-jacket, generally a very good copy. From the dust-jacket: A recognized authority on the Middle East, Mr Marlowe writes with detachment and with cogency on the role Britain has played there during the rise and fall of her pre-eminence. Mr Marlowe carries the story down to the present; he covers two world wars, the fluctuating fortunes of the Ottoman and British Empires, the rise of Soviet Russia, the vicissitudes of Arab Nationalism, and finally Persia's emergence into the Oil Age. Oil has revolutionized its economy, heightened its strategic importance and involved it in a vortex of international rivalry and intrigue. and spice trading, the Gulf came to occupy a key position in Britain's Imperial system after the acquisition of India; and in the nineteenth century it assumed international importance because of its command of land and sea routes between Europe and the various European Empires in Asia. The Gulf has always been a potential storm centre, long before the Abadan crisis enflamed public curiosity. Originally used as an entrepot for silk The winds of change are no respecters of ostriches-and we believe that an increasing number of readers, concerned with the climate of world affairs, will welcome this informative study of the Persian Gulf.…