Gamal Abdul Nasser, the Egyptian President who rose to power in 1954 and was bent on achieving the removal of the British from the Suez Canal Base, and spreading his Pan Arabist ideology throughout the region. President Dwight Eisenhower, who had grown tired of British colonialism and its impact on American foreign policy, and provided the guidelines that Secretary of State Dulles implemented. She goes on to examine the major players in the conflict Anthony Eden, British Foreign Secretary and later Prime Minister who despised Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser and basically “wanted him dead” as he blamed him for all of England’s ills, domestic and foreign. Von Tunzelmann begins by providing the history that led up to British control of the Suez Canal. (British Foreign Secretary and then Prime Minister during Suez, Sir Anthony Eden) The only drawback to this approach is that a sense of chronology is sometimes lost, and with so much taking place across the Middle East and Eastern Europe it can be confusing for the general reader. In so doing she effectively examines how decisions were reached by the major actors, and the impact of how those decisions influenced the contemporary world order.

Von Tunzelmann has a unique approach to her narrative and analysis as she chooses certain dates leading up to the crisis, from October 22 to Novemand within each date she explains events and delves into the background history of the issues that are raised. The interfacing of these two crises is the subject of Alex von Tunzelmann’s new book, BLOOD AND SAND: SUEZ, HUNGARY, AND EISENHOWER’S CAMPAIGN FOR PEACE. Dulles that allied actions in Suez had provided cover for Soviet tanks to roll in to Budapest.

The Eisenhower administration was confronted by overlapping crises that brought the United States in opposition to its allies England and France at a time when it seemed to President Eisenhower and Secretary of State John F.

Both events had a tremendous impact on the geo-strategic balance in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Last week was the 60 th anniversary of the 1956 Suez Crisis as well as the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

Blood and sand alex von tunzelmann