The Man Who Created the Middle East: A Story of Empire, Conflict and the Sykes-Picot Agreement Paperback – 19 Oct. 2017

A wonderfully moving account of Sykes’s personal life that provides an insight to the man and his influences adding a different perspective to the well trodden path that history then took.

A truly excellent entertaining tale of one the authors responsible for a botched attempt at constructing peace in the middle east at the start of the 20th Century.Beyond this sorry spectacle is a human story illustrating graphically the life and times of someone in the centre of the British Empire during the First World War.

This book is interesting and arrived on time. Nothing else to say really

I had been looking forward very much indeed to reading this biography, as I am interested in the history of the Green Howards, - in particular the history of the Yorkshire Regiment in the First World War. Sir Mark Sykes was well-known in the Yorkshire Regiment, and for a short time was Commanding Officer of the 5th Battalion.Although the book is thoroughly researched and reads well, I found myself increasingly unable to feel any sympathy for Sir Mark. Instead, I found that I felt irritated by his apparently superficial approach to both exploration and politics. Maybe this is just me, but the portrait painted of the man is one of somebody who was involved in a great deal of things at the expense of failing to be an expert in any one particular thing.Hvaing read about 2/3 of the book, I found myself speed reading in order to reach the end.A pity, as I'm sure Sir Mark had many virtues and would have been a very interesting person to meet, but somehow I couldn't warm to him through the pages of this book.

An excellent account of a driven man trying to balance family life with sorting out the Middle East after WW1.It is a tragedy that he died so young (39). Had he lived longer the Middle East now might be a more stable and peaceful place.

Phenomenal insight into an aspect of history that is presently being played out sadly in the cities and suburbs of Syria and the streets of Europe.

The biography is about Mark Sykes, Christopher Simon Sykes' grandfather. The Sykes family own extensive lands in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The beginning of the book, describing Mark Sykes' upbringing could almost be televised as Downton Abbey with scandal. The latter part of the book deals Mark Sykes' career as an MP and his role in formulating the boundaries and spheres of influence in the Middle East. What this book lacked was a detailed family tree, and possibly maps to help with Mark Sykes' extensive travels.

Not an easy subject but this biography of Mark Sykes renders the bewildering factions of today's middle eastern politics a little more comprehensible.