World History
Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly
Personal Highlights:
  • On a more subtle level, all the Western powers, including the Ottoman Empire’s/Turkey’s chief ally in the war, Germany, continued to refer to the city...
  • Arab Revolt to which Lawrence became affiliated was, to use his own words, “a sideshow of a sideshow.
  • Through cutthroat tactics devised by its principal shareholder, John D. Rockefeller, Standard had so thoroughly dominated the U.S. petroleum industry over the previous four decades...
City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism
Personal Highlights:
  • Today, Ras Al-Khaimah is one of the poorest of the seven emirates of the UAE. For this, they hold the British responsible.
  • 175 years of uninterrupted succession is probably unprecedented.
  • Sheikh Maktoum saw the low-hanging fruit. He launched a plan to make Dubai the most business-friendly port in the lower Gulf. He abolished the 5 percent customs