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Winston Churchill had a major impact on the creation of the modern Middle East while serving as War Secretary (1919-21) and Colonial Secretary (1921-22) in the David Lloyd George cabinet. In these two posts, the Middle East was a prime area of his responsibility. Over those four years, Churchill adopted the Sharifian policy, laid the foundation for the states of Jordan and Iraq, established the policy of Air Control, and attempted to formulate a Palestine policy, which he based on adherence to the Balfour Declaration. Winston S. Churchill and the Shaping of the Middle East, 1919-22 by Sara Reguer (Brooklyn College) studies Churchill’s role in the Middle East in the wake of the upheaval brought about by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the Great War. Reguer interestingly notes that “people in high office develop their own methods to get what they want and Churchill was a master at this.” His maneuverings in the developing and implementing Middle East policy are an example of how someone in a high government position functions in the decision-making. Reguer adds, that Churchill’s “tactics were many: he built up an arsenal of reliable data and memoranda, he then used this arsenal to convince those men whose supportive opinions he needed and only then did he approach the high level decision makers.” The volume is a fine academic study of Churchill and the Middle East.