From the author of The Penguin State of the World Atlas, an essential tool for understanding the modern Middle East

The Middle East is in a constant state of change, and understanding it has never been more important. In this essential guide to the region and its politics, Dan Smith unravels the history of the Middle East from the Ottoman Empire to the present day. With the acute and fair-minded analysis readers have come to expect from him, Smith highlights key issues and maps their global implications to explain why the Middle East has become, and will remain, the focal point of foreign policy. There can be no one-line summary of the Middle East, but in The Penguin State of the Middle East Atlas, Smith gives readers the primer they need to understand the ongoing conflicts in the region.