"In a spirited reappraisal of Western views of the East and Eastern views of the West, Bernard Lewis gives us an overview of two thousand years of commerce, diplomacy, war and exploration.".

"Western businessmen - from the arms dealers who supplied Saladin with weapons to fight the Crusaders to the first oil prospectors - have seen great possibilities in the markets of the Middle East. And throughout the centuries, East and West have met in battle. We witness the outbreak of the Crimean War with Karl Marx and enter Egypt with Napoleon. We visit Baghdad and Cairo with George F. Kennan during World War II."--BOOK JACKET.