'This accessible and timely history of the Maghreb offers a concise, readable analysis of key events in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia over the last two centuries. In so doing, it provides an original and stimulating assessment of the socioeconomic and political factors that have united and divided the region. The result is a clear, balanced, and thoughtful discussion which ... Read moreadds insight and understanding to our knowledge of the region.'
Ronald Bruce St John, historian of the Maghreb and author of Libya: From Colony to Revolution
'Knut S. Vikor's remarkable achievement is to summarise briefly but lucidly the modern history of the neighbouring but disparate states of the Arab Maghreb.This expert survey by a leading regional authority provides the essential background to an understanding of how and why the 2011 Arab Spring had such a varied impact across North Africa.'
John Wright, former chief political commentator, BBC Arabic Service, and author of A History of Libya
'For a long time there has been a need for a concise, accessible history of the modern Maghreb. Knut Vikor's book meets this need perfectly with its brisk, clear narrative and wide geographic sweep. It provides an extremely useful introduction to a part of the Arab world that is unfamiliar to many.'
Michael Willis, St Antony's College, Oxford University, author of Politics and Power in the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring
'This admirably concise history of Muslim North Africa from the advent of European intervention is set against the wider background of thirteen centuries of Muslim rule and concludes with a succinct description of the Arab Spring in 2011. It is an excellent introduction for the general reader and the specialist alike.' Show Less