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This book reveals Sir John's own sense of duty as an early twentieth century Christian soldier who served the British army in World War I, the Iraqi Mandate in the 1920s, and the Hashimite rulers of Jordan until 1956-an eventful year in AngloArab relations. That spring, before the Suez Crisis turned into a war with global ramifications, the young King Husain abruptly dismissed Glubb as the commander of the Bedouin-recruited Arab Legion which guarded the 300-mile frontier between Israel and Jordan. Something snapped with this British "collaborator," in the sense used by Professor Robinson and the late Professor Gallaghe
This book reveals Sir John's own sense of duty as an early twentieth century Christian soldier who served the British army in World War I, the Iraqi Mandate in the 1920s, and the Hashimite rulers of Jordan until 1956-an eventful year in AngloArab relations. That spring, before the Suez Crisis turned into a war with global ramifications, the young King Husain abruptly dismissed Glubb as the commander of the Bedouin-recruited Arab Legion which guarded the 300-mile frontier between Israel and Jordan. Something snapped with this British "collaborator," in the sense used by Professor Robinson and the late Professor Gallagher, so Prime Minister Eden-suspecting Nasser machinations of Hitlerian dimensions-had the Queen knight Glubb. Instantly Sir John became a media personality; he accepted ?6,000 to write a few articles for the Daily Mail. Without a pension from the British or Jordanian governments, Glubb eventually wrote some 20 books and gave lots of lectures in America, which has enabled him to live the last years of his life in England quite comfortably. The pen obviously proved more lucrative than the sword. Glubb's views interspersed with the narrative mix a personal code of Christian honor with anti-Jewish feelings, pro-strong defense postures with anti-nuclear war stances, a love for humanity and an exaggerated sense of patriotism, a respect for women and unctuous male chauvinism. Such views are unlikely to appeal to readers who understandably prefer contemporary autobiographical classics by Bertrand Russell, Leonard Woolf or Reader Bullard. Yet, the discriminating reader will thereby miss the conventional ways in which most British perceived their mission to the Middle East as embodied in Glubb for 35 years. Most English who are even interested still find it hard to understand why most Arabs hate them. Serious students will not find in this book any new data about the history of which Glubb was a part. After all, he was born in 1897. Permit the reviewer to recall having asked another old British Hand about some details of his involvement during World War I without realizing that the interviewee had put that out of his mind long ago and preferred to talk about Jane Austen! Nevertheless, by reading Glubb's autobiography between the lines, one tastes an important British slice of Middle Eastern life in the first half of this century that smells strongly of national pride and religious prejudice. Glubb "Pasha" reflects upon his career in the Middle East after quoting a poem he received in 1981 from a member of the Huwaitat tribe: "O Kloob, by God, we have not forgotten you, 0 Kloob, Your conduct was always in the way of generosity and honor." "There is no G in the Arabic alphabet, so my name became Kloob", Glubb adds condescendingly. Yet "Kloob" takes comfort in all this: "it is gratifying to our human weakness to know that our efforts have been appreciated if only by the poor and the humble." (p. 183) His all too human weakness appears less edifying to this reviewer. As a child, Glubb prayed "that Britain may always be the greatest power in the world, and the greatest power for good in the world". As an old man, Glubb concludes: "Britain before 1914 was indeed the greatest power in the world, and I think also a very great power for good. Her decline in the last seventy years has been due to her moral weaknesses, not to external circumstances. " (p. 212) How deeply embedded Glubb's own missionary zeal remains, but it is doubtful it this book will gain many converts.
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Manufacturer: Quartet Books Ltd
ISBN-10 : 070432329X |
ISBN-13: 9780704323292
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