The Pasha: How Mehemet Ali Defied the West, 1839–1841 (review)

This book offers a dramatic narrative of the political, military, and diplomatic events and personalities entangled in the jostling for power by Mehemet Ali, the Pasha of Ottoman Egypt, as he sought to establish himself as an autonomous dynastic ruler. The author augments the usual European perspective on the diplomatic history of the era with Middle Eastern views expressed in Istanbul and Alexandria as recorded in Arabic summaries of the Pasha’s correspondence with his administrators and generals in Syria. The tale centers on the clash of personalities between British Prime Minister Lord Henry Temple Palmerston and Mehemet Ali.

The book does not have an overarching thesis, although the author does attempt to draw some parallels between Mehemet Ali and Saddam Hussein. For example, she muses about the reluctance of fragile states to risk their expensive armaments in battle against western opponents, noting that Mehemet Ali’s imported warships remained at anchor in Alexandria rather than confront the British navy and that Saddam dispersed his air force to Iran rather than lose it in combat in the first Gulf War. The chapters only average between seven and ten pages each, and their brevity mitigates any sustained argument. On the other hand, the extremely short chapters do serve to keep the story moving. On a positive note, the author presents detailed descriptions of the battles, and the maps are very well done. Ultimately, Letitia Ufford is telling a story rather than making an analytical argument, and readers may be pleased or disappointed with that result depending on their own interests. Non-specialists will find the text very easy to read because the author does an effective job of providing context and background for the major personalities involved. Specialists in the Eastern Question or nineteenth century Europe will not find as much use for this book except as a source of colorful anecdotes.