Transmigrating Across a Century of the Middle East

An essential read for understanding a century of turmoil in the Middle East. Highly recommended by Yu Minhong, Luo Zhenyu, Shi Zhan, Li Shuo, Zhang Mingyang, Liu Zichao, Liu Yi, and many others! Here, peace is an illusion, and war is eternal.

The smoke of World War I had barely cleared when the declining Ottoman Empire collapsed completely, its territory carved up by the European powers and its Arab tribes divided by conflicting interests. The ongoing turmoil in the modern Middle East is the prolonged aftershock of that imperial collapse. A succession of new Arab states emerged, but their political systems were immature and their economic foundations shaky. Religious issues fueled frequent conflicts, and disputes have persisted for a century.

This book is like a journey through time and space across the Middle East. Using a century of Middle Eastern history as its framework, it skillfully weaves the author’s firsthand observations together with historical retrospection to create a vivid, nuanced panorama of the past. Its chapters examine the region’s major challenges, probing the roots of conflicts and contradictions buried deep in history and offering readers a balanced, objective overview of the turmoil. More than a work of history, it is a profound reflection on how the Middle East’s turmoil began, endured, and may end, inviting us to seek the first glimmers of peace and hope in this ancient, mysterious land.