“In a very readable history, Fromherz provides a millennia-long narrative replete with fascinating details.”
—Asian Review of Books
“Many authors would be daunted by the task of synthesizing over four millennia of history in a geographical area that encompasses eight different modern states. But Fromherz rises to the challenge. . . . He chronologically presents the stories of six different port cities in the Gulf that, in turn, open the door to exploring different historical eras in the region.”
—Informed Comment
“An engaging study of a neglected region in the global historical narrative.”
—H-Net Reviews
“This is an excellent, engagingly written overview of the political and commercial history of a crucial waterway mostly known for the vagaries of the oil that has flowed through it in modern times.”
—R. P. Matthee, University of Delaware, in Choice
“Remarkably accessible, this book offers an authoritative history of the Gulf, boldly linking the region to the wider currents of global history.”
—Dale F. Eickelman, author of The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach
“Simply compelling! Allen Fromherz does for the Gulf what Braudel did for the Mediterranean.”
—G. R. Garthwaite, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Professor in Asian Studies and Professor Emeritus of History at Dartmouth College
“The best historical interpretation of the gulf geography . . . A must read for anyone with an interest in the Middle East, Persia, and economic history.”
—Ansgar Baums, Senior Fellow, Stimson Center