In reply to taine:
Just finished, this morning, "A Line in the Sand" by James Barr - subtitled "Britain, France and the struggle that shaped the Middle East". A very interesting book with references that would keep even TobyA happy for months. The last sections about the way Israel was born, the level of terrorism by the Irgun and Stern gangs, a murder on every page, is sobering reading, even for someone who has red a few books on the subject. The intrigues between British and French over the period make most conspiracy theories look like child's play.
The book was suggested by a poster on ukc but I can't remember who to thank him, Tony maybe?, he also suggested "Afgantsy" by Roderick Braithwaite which I read just before, about the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan - an interesting book too. Both available at the click of a mouse from Amazon for the price of a couple of pints of beer.