Negotiating for the Past: Archaeology, Nationalism, and Diplomacy in the Middle East, 1919-1941 Paperback – Illustrated, July 1, 2007

Great powers bickered, wheeled and dealed in trying to snap up as many artifacts as they could, with different institutions vying for prestige... and later local regimes would use archaeology and images of the past to legitimize their own governments. A lot of the history of the regions covered makes more sense when viewed through this new lens of archaeology. Both the colonial relationships with the regions and the subsequent attitudes and actions of post-colonial leaders were unmistakably colored by it, and learning to recognize that color helps you see a more complete picture overall.I'd recommend it for anyone studying the modern history of the Middle East, not just those with an interest in archaeology.

Had to get it for a class

This readable book demonstrates outstanding insights into how archeology played a major role in the devlopment of a national identity for 4 major Middle Eastern countries. The book should be invaluable to archeologists as well as students/scholars trying to understand the ideological currents and leaders of the struggle for independence against colonialist powers, as well as the U.S.

This book lacks some indispensable sources on the history of archaeological explorations in Southwest Asia (or what has been called Middle East) in the period between the two World Wars. The main theme upon which the author concentrates is that the rise of a sort of nationalism or nationalistic governments in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey led to manifold uses of historical relics and monuments in order to foment the countries' development. The focus of the book is apparently Iran in the 1930s, but the author doesn't seem to be in full control of his sources. Having said that, the book takes advantage of a number of US archival documents, which is the positive point, but they should have been checked and used along with other unpublished and published sources (French and Iranian archives, in particular) in order to produce a substantial study of the history of archaeology in the Middle East. However, I recommend this book to whoever is intersted in the history of the modern Middle East through the lens of archaeological activities.