For about four centuries, the Ottoman Empire was one of the strongest states in Europe while simultaneously ruling over the Middle East. However, by 1914 it was severely weakened and surrounded by predators hoping to finish it off. As the Western front became a stalemate and the Ottomans aligned with the Central Powers, the British, French, and Russians devised a bold plan to destroy the weaker enemy and carve out vast new empires for themselves: an ambitious invasion of Gallipoli that was unprecedented.

This impressive book by Eugene Rogan reconstructs one of the most significant yet least understood fronts of World War I and one of the most relentless theaters of war in history. It provides detailed, gripping descriptions of the major battles that unfolded in the harsh climatic conditions of arid deserts or the glaciers of the Caucasus, as well as around great cities like Istanbul, Damascus, Baghdad, and Jerusalem.

While the conflicts in Western Europe were primarily conducted by professional armies, those in the Middle East involved entire populations, with devastating consequences for ancient communities such as those of the Armenians and Greeks. Although they responded with skill and determination to the Allies' advance and humbled the British both in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), the Ottomans were ultimately defeated, paving the way for a new Middle East that has persisted to this day – with consequences that still loom large in our lives.

"An extremely well-documented, careful, and engaging account of the Ottoman war in Anatolia and the Arab provinces. It particularly highlights the conflict on multiple fronts from both sides of the lines and effectively draws from documents, memoirs, and diaries of soldiers and civilians." Mark Mazower, Financial Times

"An authority on Middle Eastern issues, Rogan offers us a panorama of the Great War in the Middle East, the significance of which is as weighty as that of events that occurred in Europe. By referring to archives in Turkey and the Arab world that have thus far not been exploited by historians, Rogan has written a decidedly non-Eurocentric book. It is not enough to know the facts as recorded only by the victors, but also how they were perceived and evaluated by the defeated." Anastasios Vistoniotis, To Vima

"In the former Ottoman regions, wounded by war, doctrinal divisions, and oppression, the legacy of the Great War continues to be painfully felt... Here is a book whose enlightening geopolitical significance should be glaringly apparent." Sunday Telegraph (UK)

"Some exciting passages describe the advance towards Jerusalem led by the British at the end of 1917, which culminated in the capture of the holy city just before Christmas. An excellent story that Rogan narrates beautifully, making evident both the rigidity of the Turkish defense and the ingenuity of the British tactics." New York Times Book Review

"Geopolitical and military analysis at its best. Tense, anecdotal, and remarkably well-documented." Washington Times