The gripping, forgotten story of America’s first foray into the Middle East, in which, traversing a backwater of a dying empire, Lt. William Lynch forged alliances with a Bedouin sheik and a Hashemite sharif, used foul-tempered camels to haul metal boats overland, and bravely navigated the treacherous rapids of the Jordan. But why? Was it a publicity stunt? Or was it meant to be the first step in returning Muslim Palestine to its former glory as a land of milk and honey? Exploring these possibilities in vivid, absorbing detail, Clark masterfully recounts this foolhardy mission that was soon derailed by the Civil War. Another hundred years would pass before America again involved itself in the Middle East.