The Establishment of the United Arab Emirates, 1950-1985

Though presented as an academic review, Taryam's history is most valuable as an insider's account of the delicate and intricate talks that led to the establishment of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Having been a delegate to the talks from the emirate of Sharjah (and a federal minister of the seven-member UAE from 1971 to 1979), Taryam has new information on his subject. Unfortunately, he has not managed to make it accessible to a general audience. Only someone well versed in the subject will be able to find the novel elements here and know where they fit into the larger picture. For non-specialists, Taryam's account offers little more than a partial and often biased (anti-British and anti-Iranian) account.