James Barr

James Barr has worked in politics, at the Daily Telegraph, in the city and as a political officer at the British Embassy in Paris. He now runs his own research business. In 2006, Bloomsbury published his history of the Arab revolt during the First World War, Setting the Desert on Fire. In 2011 he followed this with A Line in the Sand, Britain, France and the struggle that shaped the Middle East (Simon & Schuster), which earned brilliant reviews. His latest book, Lords of the Desert: Britain’s Struggle with America to Dominate the Middle East, published in August 2018 (Simon & Schuster), tells the story of the rise of America and the fall of Britain in the Middle East. Some of its praise includes, ‘a dramatic, absorbing account’ by Prospect and ‘a riveting tale of Great Power competition, skulduggery and backstabbing’ by The Sunday Times. 

The Arena: Three Thousand Years of Conflict in the Middle East, a sweeping history of the great power conflict in the region, was recently acquired by Headline in a “heated” six-way auction.