The Middle East, at least 1,000 years of history

After Fromkin and before starting my Spanish studies in early December, I had a chance to read the first half of Bernard Lewis’ The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years. I was trying to wrap up my whirlwind review of the Middle East, but didn’t quite finish. This volume, like the other two by Lewis that started my review of the Middle East, was very easy to read, non-academic in terms of references and a bit repetitive. That said, I will go back and finish it at some point. I need to shore up my knowledge of the region from the 1920’s to the 1990’s before I can accurately understand the works on the current situation/status. Any other suggestions are welcome.