In this immensely readable and wide ranging book,Bernard Lewis charts the successive transformations of the Middle East,beginning with the two great empires,the Roman and the Persian,and covering the growth of Christianity,the rise and spread of Islam,the waves of invaders from the east,the Mongol hordes of Jengiz Khan,the rise of the Ottoman Turks,and the changing balance of power between the Muslim and Christian worlds.THE MIDDLE EAST is a brilliant survey of the history and civilisations of the region.