James Barr

In 1916, in the middle of the First World War, two men secretly agreed to divide the Middle East between them. Sir Mark Sykes was a visionary politician; François Georges-Picot a diplomat with a grudge. The deal they struck, which was designed to relieve tensions that threatened to engulf the Entente Cordiale, drew a line in the sand from the Mediterranean to the Persian frontier. Territory north of that stark line would go to France; land south of it, to Britain. Against the odds their pact survived the war to form the basis for the post-war division of the region into five new countries Britain and France would rule. The creation of Britain's 'mandates' of Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq, and France's in Lebanon and Syria, made the two powers uneasy neighbours for the following thirty years. Through a stellar cast of politicians, diplomats, spies and soldiers, including T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, A Line in the Sand vividly tells the story of the short but crucial era when Britain and France ruled the Middle East. It explains exactly how the old antagonism between these two powers inflamed the more familiar modern rivalry between the Arabs and the Jews, and ultimately led to war between the British and the French in 1941 and between the Arabs and the Jews in 1948. In 1946, after many years of intrigue and espionage, Britain finally succeeded in ousting France from Lebanon and Syria, and hoped that, having done so, it would be able to cling on to Palestine. Using newly declassified papers from the British and French archives, James Barr brings this overlooked clandestine struggle back to life, and reveals, for the first time, the stunning way in which the French finally got their revenge.

Britain, France and the Struggle for the Mastery of the Middle East

A Line in the Sand

BOOK OF THE DAY - The Guardian 'James Barr's beautifully written and deeply researched book covers 25 years of competition between Britain and the US for hegemony in the Middle East ... Barr also deftly integrates the role of secret intelligence in foreign policy, drawing on the diary of a little-known journalist-cum-MI6 agent to add indiscreet and illuminating detail.' Ian Black, The Observer 'Barr describes this transfer of power in a brilliant, detached and eye-opening narrative that matches his A Line In The Sandfor pace. It is a gripping tale of diplomatic legerdemain, political hypocrisy and, once the intelligence boys got going, derring-do.' Lawrence James, The Times 'Compelling... This is essential, gripping history with major relevance for those who wish to understand that tortured region today.' --Nicholas Burns, Professor, Harvard University and former Under Secretary of State 'High adventure and covert action meet in this account of a momentous power shift that decisively shaped today's world.' --Stephen Kinzer, author of All the Shah's Men and Overthrow 'An essential book for understanding the modern Middle East--and a thrilling read to boot.' --Alex von Tunzelmann, author of Blood and Sand Upon victory in 1945, Britain still dominated the Middle East. She directly ruled Palestine and Aden, was the kingmaker in Iran, the power behind the thrones of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, and protected the sultan of Oman and the Gulf sheikhs. But her motives for wanting to dominate this crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa were changing. Where 'imperial security' - control of the route to India - had once been paramount, now oil was an increasingly important factor. So, too, was prestige. Ironically, the very end of empire made control of the Middle East precious in itself: on it hung Britain's claim to be a great power. Unable to withstand Arab and Jewish nationalism, within a generation the British were gone. But that is not the full story. What ultimately sped Britain on her way was the uncompromising attitude of the United States, which was determined to displace the British in the Middle East. The British did not give in gracefully to this onslaught. Using newly declassified records and long-forgotten memoirs, including the diaries of a key British spy, James Barr tears up the conventional interpretation of this era in the Middle East, vividly portraying the tensions between London and Washington, and shedding an uncompromising light on the murkier activities of a generation of American and British diehards in the region, from the battle of El Alamein in 1942 to Britain's abandonment of Aden in 1967. Reminding us that the Middle East has always served as the arena for great power conflict, this is the tale of an internecine struggle in which Britain would discover that her most formidable rival was the ally she had assumed would be her closest friend. Reviews for A Line In The Sand:- 'Masterful' --The Spectator 'With superb research and telling quotations, Barr has skewered the whole shabby story' --The Times 'Lively and entertaining. He has scoured the diplomatic archives of the two powers and has come up with a rich haul that brings his narrative to life' --Financial Times

The Battle Between the US and Great Britain for Supremacy in the Modern Middle East

Lords of the Desert

Kirmizi Cizgi - Paylasilamayan Topraklarin Yakin Tarihi

Quatrefoil

A path-breaking history of how the United States superseded Great Britain as the preeminent power in the Middle East, with urgent lessons for the present day We usually assume that Arab nationalism brought about the end of the British Empire in the Middle East--that Gamal Abdel Nasser and other Arab leaders led popular uprisings against colonial rule that forced the overstretched British from the region. In Lords of the Desert, historian James Barr draws on newly declassified archives to argue instead that the US was the driving force behind the British exit. Though the two nations were allies, they found themselves at odds over just about every question, from who owned Saudi Arabia's oil to who should control the Suez Canal. Encouraging and exploiting widespread opposition to the British, the US intrigued its way to power--ultimately becoming as resented as the British had been. As Barr shows, it is impossible to understand the region today without first grappling with this little-known prehistory.

The Battle Between the United States and Great Britain for Supremacy in the Modern Middle East

Biblical Words for Time

Greed and intrigue combine explosively in this gripping tale of how the mercurial Lawrence of Arabia changed the Middle East forever. It was T. E. Lawrence’s classic Seven Pillars of Wisdom that made the Arab Revolt a legend and helped turn the British intelligence officer into the mythical “Lawrence of Arabia.” But the intrigue behind the revolt and its startling consequences for the present-day Middle East have remained a mystery for nearly one hundred years. James Barr spent four years trawling declassified archives in Europe and crossing the hostile deserts of the Middle East to re-create the revolt as the international drama it really was. A colorful cast of Arab sheiks, British and French soldiers, spies, and diplomats come together in this gripping narrative of political maneuvering, guerrilla warfare, and imperial greed. Setting the Desert on Fire is a masterly account of a key moment in the history of the Middle East, and a portrait of Lawrence himself that is bright, nuanced, and full of fresh insights into the true nature of the master mythmaker.

Setting the Desert on Fire: T. E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916-1918

An authoritative account of the 1916 revolt in Arabia and T. E. Lawrence's lesser-known role in key events draws on previously unavailable archival material to offer insight into the uprising's complexities and contributions to modern Middle East conflicts. Reprint.

Greed and intrigue combine explosively in this gripping, masterly account of a key moment in the history of the Middle East, and a portrait of T.E. Lawrence--Lawrence of Arabia himself--that is bright, nuanced, and full of fresh insights into the true nature of the master mythmaker. Photos. Maps.

T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916-18

Setting the Desert on Fire

The first of three volumes of James Barr's collected essays. Begins with a biographical essay and contains major articles on theology in relation to the Bible, programmatic studies of the past and future of biblical study, and reflections on specific topics in the study of the Old Testament.

Volume I: Interpretation and Theology

Bible and Interpretation: The Collected Essays of James Barr

In this expanded version of James Barr's classic work, three additional articles by the author are added. They are (1) "Philology and Exegesis: Some General Remarks, with Illustrations from Job," (2) "Ugaritic and Hebrew sbm?" and (3) "Limitations of Etymology as a Lexicographical Instrument in Biblical Hebrew." The text of the original edition (Oxford University Press, 1968) remains unchanged. In addition to the seventy-five pages of additional material, this expanded version concludes with a postscript by Professor Barr, placing the articles within the context of the book.

With Additions and Corrections

Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament

James Barr has never been an uncontroversial writer, and this book, eirenic though its purpose was, has proved no exception. It was widely noticed on its first appearance and led to a lively discussion, not least in evangelical circles. At the same time it was welcomed by reviewers as an important contribution to the nature of biblical criticism. 'This books breaks much new ground,' said British Book News, 'and will be welcomed by many who are interested in the intellectual basis of a biblical faith. Indeed, it is a measure of the author's coverage and penetration of a variety of issues that the book can be taken as, among other things, a useful introduction to modern critical methods of biblical scholarship.' The Scottish Journal of Theology remarked: 'One of the most urgent theological tasks in the field of biblical studies is to expose and evaluate the hidden presuppositions of the methods used, and this is necessary alike in liberal and conservative circles. Professor Barr's book is an important contribution to this task, and it is to be hoped that response to it will further clarify the issues that he raises.' Not all the responses were in fact favourable. Professor Barr was accused of having an outdated view of fundamentalism, of attacking positions which are being quite rapidly abandoned, and neglecting promising new developments. In this second edition of his book, he has added a long prteface discussing these criticisms at length. Noting and commenting on the new developments, at the same time he points out that if anything, in many areas fundamentalism is becoming even more regressive. The debate is obviously by no means over, and critics of the first edition may well have to think again. James Barr's sequel to this study, Escapting from Fundamentalism, is also published by SCM Press. James Barr was Professor of Hebre Bible at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Fundamentalism

"James Barr's extensively researched and entertaining account of the Bow Group's first fifty years charts its history from the first meeting at the Bow and Bromley Conservative Club in February 1951 - when Geoffrey Howe, William Rees-Mogg and Norman St. John Stevas were among the first participants - through increasing significance as those early members reached positions of influence in national politics, to its current place in Tory thinking."--BOOK JACKET.

A History

The Bow Group

The end of the millennium sees biblical study in a state of transition. The traditional position of historical approaches is widely questioned and `historical criticism' is regarded as passé. There is a search for approaches - literary or sociological - that are less tied to history. On the other hand there is a more radical approach to the history of Israel, that sees true history as distinct from the biblical narrative and dependent on sources other than the Bible. Biblical narratives thus express not the actual events but the ideological and religious aspirations of writers in much later times. `Ideology' has become one of the key words, but is used in very divergent ways. All this is linked with the intellectual movement known as post-modernism. Some connections between post-modernism and theology are suggested by Professor Barr in the final chapter. This book is important because it tries to bring together various threads of these different movements and to state a position from which we may advance into the new millennium.

Biblical Studies at the End of a Millennium

History and Ideology in the Old Testament

A Study of the Two Testaments

Old and New in Interpretation

John Barton

The second of three volumes of James Barr's collected essays. This volumes focuses on biblical interpretation and the history of the discipline. It also contains material on biblical fundamentalism.

Volume II: Biblical Studies

he problems which Professor Barr examines have been borne in upon him over the years as a teacher of Old Testament to theological students, but more recently by active participation in a variety of international and ecumenical colloquia where the Bible as a whole has been under discussion... As we should expect, he asks us to consider what we mean by words like 'inspiration', 'authority', 'the Word of God', 'revelation', and devotes chapters to the Bible as Literature, the Bible as Information and the Bible in Theology. Dr Barr argues for the possibility of a multiplicity of theologies, but if they are to be Christian and not merely theistic, he claims that they must be based on the Bible as the 'classic model' for understanding God, the world and ourselves, and that they must be founded on the centrality of Jesus and the God who was already known in Israel. This is a timely, stimulating and illuminating book' (The Expository Times). 'Professor Barr, well aware of the situation, tackles it with vigour and expertise. .The book has much to offer us all. It is an important contribution to a broader understanding of the nature of the Bible and provides a basis towards which most shades of opinion may confidently tend to converge' (Catholic Herald).

The Bible in the Modern World

This is a pastoral rather than a controversial book. Its main aim is not to show fundamentalists that they are wrong, but rather to help those who have grown up in the world of fundamentalism or have become committed to it but in the end have come to feel that it is a prison from which they must escape.

Escaping from Fundamentalism

A Manual of Principles and Practice

The Technology of Dry Cleaning

This is a pastoral rather than a controversial book. Its main aim is not to show fundamentalists that they are wrong, but rather to help those who have grown up in the world of fundamentalism or have become committed to it but in the end have come to feel that it is a prison from which they must escape. ""This is undoubtedly one of the best little books on fundamentalism to appear in print in recent times. . . . It is not a book which will convince the average fundamentalist. His or her choice has been made, ratified, and solidified in such a way as to preclude any openness to a position other than one in conformity with the fundamentalist tradition. The book's usefulness lies in what it offers to those who are candidates for that 'scripturally-based' certitude which holds an eerie attraction for so many men and women of faith today. It should be read not only by those who are candidates for fundamentalism, but also by all pastors and pastoral workers who must deal with the problem of fundamentalism in our midst. As a matter of fact, I think that it ought to be read by all who esteem the scriptures, properly understood, to be of singular importance for the church and its Christian faith."" --Raymond F. Collins, Professor of New Testament in the Catholic University of Louvain James Barr was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Nashville, where he taught for ten years. His illustrious teaching career has also included professorships at Edinburgh University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Manchester University, and Oxford University. He has held visiting professorships and delivered major lecture series in Europe, the United States, Africa, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand, and was longtime editor of the Journal of Semitic Studies.

James Barr

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