SALEH (Zaki).
Mesopotamia (Iraq) 1600-1914. A Study in British Foreign Affairs.
A POST-COLONIAL HISTORY OF BRITAIN IN IRAQ
A fascinating historical study of British relations with Iraq, from the first commercial expeditions in Ottoman Mesopotamia to Anglo-German rivalry on the eve of the First World War.
Professor Zaki Saleh researched his book in America and the United Kingdom, making use of state archives to uncover the reports, papers and concessions that contained the relations he sought to uncover. His introduction stresses the primary objective of wanting to objectively record British affairs in Iraq, while also attempting to communicate the damage (both intentional and unforeseen) wrought by imperialism on his country.
Provenance: 1). Peter Hopkirk (1930-2014). Hopkirk was arguably the leading British authority on Central Asia in his lifetime, covering the region as a journalist and author. In addition to writing seminal works, such as The Great Game (1990), he was an avid book collector: “He had a huge collection of books … which filled his house in Fulham, west London, to the extent that his wife feared it might sink.” (Obituary, The Times). 2). Francis E.B. Witts (b.1941). Witts attended MECAS and spent much of his career in the Middle East, primarily at Morgan Grenfell, the merchant bank, with posts in Beirut, Cairo and Istanbul.
