Laing and Alston, both former British Ambassadors to Oman have researched their subject closely, assembling an authoritative history which runs from the earliest contacts in the mid-17th century through to the end of the Dhofar wars in 1975. Their research sheds new and clearly documented evidence on how events unfolded over the past fifty years. This landmark book will be vital to all historians of the region and to analysts of the current geopolitical situation in the Persian Gulf.