On 31 July 1988 King Hussain of Jordan renounced all administrative and legal ties with the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the River Jordan, initiating a turning point in the Middle East peace process. In this study, Madiha Madfai explores Jordan's role in the USA's peacemaking efforts during the Carter, Reagan and Bush administrations. She examines the events culminating in the action of 1988 and convincingly demonstrates a history of anger, anguish and frustration with the Middle East peace process that lay behind the Jordanian decision. Dr Madfai also assesses the effects the American-Jordanian relationship had on stability in the Middle East.

"...an insightful and comprehensive analysis of Jordanian national interests, foreign policy objectives, and the means utilized to pursue those goals....It is an original work, meticulously researched using documentary sources and extensive interviews with crucial policymakers, that has no parallel in the literature on the Middle East--in particular on Jordanian efforts to make peace with Israel....The book also provides a rare and penetrating look at American foreign policy in the Middle East....[I]mportant and should be read by everyone--generalists, specialists, or practitioners--with an interest in the Arab-Israeli peace process and US policy in the region." Choice

"...Madfai says much of value and her book is a welcome addition to the historiography of the evolution of the Middle Esat peace process." Steven Z. Freiberger, American Historical Review

"All of this story makes for rather fascinating reading, perhaps particulary for the reader with a broad international perspective...especially informative and enlightening for the general reader...Al Madfai's work helps a good deal to enlighten both specialist and general reader about a little-known aspect of Middle Eastern history and politics." Barry Preisler, The International History Review