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Keepers of the Golden
Shore
A
History of the United Arab Emirates
by Michael Quentin Morton Hardback: 240 pages, 59 b+w photographs, maps ISBN 978-1780235806 For those who visit the UAE today, staying in air-conditioned hotels and shopping in ultra-modern malls, the country
itself remains an enigma – a glass and concrete creation that seems to have sprung from the desert overnight. Keepers
of the Golden Shore looks behind its glossy facade, tracing the traditional tribal bonds of an ancient land to the society
of today and casting a new and revealing light on this intriguing, innovative and resilient people. Across the spread of its deserts and mountains, islands and seas, the
UAE has a rich and diverse history. From the ancient people who came out of the desert to settle the land, through the invasions
and wars these people fought, to the myth of piracy and the mystique of pearls, and the arrival of the oilmen in the stifling
heat, Keepers of the Golden Shore tells the extraordinary story of how the Emirates and its ruling families evolved from a
tribal society to become one of the richest countries on earth.
Reviews
'Keepers of the Golden Shore covers the country from prehistory to the present day
in less than 250 pages . . . a welcome, readable and much needed starting point for new readers and new arrivals to the UAE
who want a better understanding of the people and places around them.' - James Langton, The National, UAE Michael Quentin Morton's fifth book about the Arabian
Peninsula and Persian Gulf and one explicitly intended for expatriate readers, provides those newly arrived in the region
with a readable, enjoyable introduction to the states and their history. Morton's work is an important step in integrating
eastern Arabia into broader historical narratives of the Middle East, which frequently view the rise of Arab identities
and states through the lens of the Levant and the Arab republics while ignoring or segregating the rise of oil monarchies...
a welcome addition to scholarship on the United Arab Emirates, not least because of Morton's personal experiences in
and respect for the country and its people. He resists the tendency to paint an overly rosy picture of British friendship
and "protection" of the region, which dominates the archives and some of the scholarship on the Persian Gulf,
while also recognizing and accounting for the personalities, feuds, and limitations of ruling shaykhs. The end result is
an excellent introduction to the subject.' - Kristi Barnwell, Arab Studies Journal 'This excellent
and readable book, with a wealth of illustrations, begins by charting the early tribal history of the coast and its extensive
trading relationships.' - The Anglo-Omani Society Review
'Quentin Morton, who grew up in the Gulf, writes with calm authority and rational
judgment about the often passionate rivalry between the various emirates and their ruling families, several of which engaged
in fratricide and other dastardly acts . . . for anyone who wants to understand from where what is now the UAE emerged and
how that happened this is a most useful and readable account.' - Jonathan Fryer, Interlib magazine
'Quentin
Morton offers us a comprehensive history of the United Arab Emirates from the earliest times to the present. It is an enthralling
tale, told with verve and clarity and covers the emergence of Greater Oman after the coming of Islam, the rise and fall of
the pearling industry, the hungry years of the Second World War and the discovery of oil. Evocative illustrations remind
us that this is living history in the sense that much of the history is relevant to the life of the UAE today, particularly
relationships within the emirates and the state's relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia.' - Sir Harold Walker,
former ambassador to the UAE
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