The House Divided: Sunni, Shia and the Making of the Middle East

The author starts at the beginning, with a vivid description of the Prophet's life, his household, his teachings and his death - which is where the split began, with a family coup. These early divisions set the path for all the caliphs and imams, rulers and rebels, mystics and scholars, lawyers and warriors, right up to the present. Never have I read such a clear and impartial description of this very complex, very difficult subject.

At first I was a bit reluctant. Only the hardback was available from amazon,it and amazon.co.uk wanted £10 for shipping to Italy. I diodn't get it on kindle because I thought it might have maps. But it was well worth it and will almost certainly be my book of the year. It covers a millenium and a half but judiciously focuses mostly on the beginnings and the past couple of centuries. The explanations of how the history has beeen affected by geography, climate, family, tribe, clan, language, imperialism, money and personalities that cross the Sunni Shia divide are concise. Yet they give the reader a much deeper understanding of how the Middle East has ended up how it has. A joy to read.

An excellent history of the schism and it still impacts the world today.

This book takes us from the birth of Islam with Muhammad up to the point of the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.It is easy to read and provides a good background to the development of Islamism up until the present day.The early centuries are quite gripping and it is interesting to read the background to events that have occurred during my lifetime. Nope, I still don’t understand why Tony B. Liar wanted to invade Iraq.There seems to be broad agreement between the Sunni and Shia faiths about the history. What differs is the interpretation of events after the death of Muhammad, especially in the early years.Three of the first four successors to Muhammad were assassinated. Muhammad himself was a warrior leader whilst at the same time developing the pious beliefs that seems to underpin Islam.What has followed is over a thousand years of wars, massacres and assassination all in the name of a common god.It makes the Catholic vs Protestant schism look like a lovers’ tiff.It’s very difficult to see how there can ever be an end to it. Ultimately a very depressing if informative read.

An informative book that has been written with a huge amount of care, it could be so easy for the author to get caught up in the emotions of this collection of militant countries but Rogerson does a great job of being impartial…with a couple of deserving swipes at President Bush and his war with Iraq, I could almost sense the raised eyebrow as he commented on the reasoning behind that war. You may think this is a heavy book, the subject matter is huge and Rogerson admits in the acknowledgements that he initially went over by a quarter of a million words, but with a mix of a great teacher and a pupil with barely any knowledge I was entranced with this epic history.The first part of the book starts with a lesson about the Prophet Muhammad, how he rose to prominence and the fallout of his death, just understanding this moment gave me a much better understanding of the Middle East. Rogerson then starts to focus on each country, how it was formed, it’s changing alliances and enemies, it’s leaders and what they achieved, how the US/Russia/Britain manipulated and destroyed, concluding with the current tensions the countries are facing.There is a lot to shock the reader if you were not aware of the history, so many brutal deaths and yet now and then a leader rises that only wants the best for his people and for a while there is a brief moment of hope. As the book progressed there were things I knew about…or at least I thought I knew, you only get so much of the story from the news, it is well worth reading this just to fill in those blanks.This was one of the most comprehensive history books I’ve read and also one of the most accessible, the perfect balance…I just wish I was able to retain more information, so many names here that deserve to be remembered. A super important book that needs to be read by the masses to give them a better understanding of the world.

As I live in Northern Cyprus - a Muslim country, I have been keen to better understand the complexities of the Middle East but all I could find were books about religion or one aspect of the divisions. This book summarises it all, historically, politically and economically, filling the gaps in ,y knowledge and understanding. Well done Barnaby!

"The House Divided" is a comprehensive exploration of the intricate dynamics and historical roots underlying the Sunni-Shia conflict in the Middle East. Authored by [insert author's name], this book delves deep into the religious, political, and socio-cultural factors that have shaped and perpetuated this centuries-old rift.