Berlin-Baghdad Railway

In The Berlin-Baghdad Express, historian Sean McMeekin exposes the secretive intelligence battles and geopolitical gambits that defined the Middle Eastern theater of World War I. Beyond standard military histories, McMeekin investigates Imperial Germany's ambitious bid for global supremacy through its partnership with the Ottoman Empire. The narrative centers on two pivotal instruments: the massive engineering project of the Berlin-Baghdad Railway intended to bypass British maritime dominance, and a calculated strategy to incite a anti-imperialist "Islamic jihad" across British, French, and Russian colonies. Drawing from extensively researched German, Ottoman, and Allied archives, McMeekin traces the exploits of spies, diplomats, and orientalists operating across North Africa, Arabia, and Central Asia. The book offers a masterclass in diplomatic and covert history, demonstrating how the weaponization of religious rhetoric and infrastructural rivalries laid the groundwork for the modern Middle East.

It offers an eye-opening, archive-driven narrative of World War I in the Middle East, shedding light on the hidden mechanics of wartime espionage, geopolitical infrastructure, and the historical roots of political Islamism.

Ideal for historians, students of Middle Eastern and European history, military and intelligence history enthusiasts, and readers interested in Ottoman-German relations and geopolitical strategy during World War I.