The Yemen".: In: Royal Central Asian Journal, Vol. XLII, Parts III & IV (July-October 1955).

London: Royal Central Asian Society,, 1955. First appearance in print of the text of a lecture on the complex socio-cultural configuration of south-western Arabia by Britain's agent in the West Aden Protectorate, given to a packed meeting of the Royal Central Asian Society on 6 April 1955 in the midst of the failed attempt to overthrow Ahmad bin Yahya. Basil William Seager (1898-1977) joined the colonial administrative service in Aden in 1934, having previously served as pro-consul in Jeddah. Between 1934 and 1942, he was frontier officer in the Western Aden Protectorate (except for a two-year stint as the British resident in Sana'a), before being promoted to the rank of agent. During the 1948 Alwaziri coup, he worked behind the scenes to prevent outbreaks of anarchy in North and South Yemen. Drawing on his own experiences, Seager discusses the history and political organization of Yemen and expands on its current situation. "Frontier work was extremely interesting, if at time hazardous.... One decision we had to make was whether a certain house was inside or outside the Protectorate boundaries. On the day of the examination of this sector I was amazed to find nearly 1,000 Protectorate tribesmen, armed to the teeth, awaiting my arrival" (p. 222). He describes his first meeting with Ahmad bin Yahya - "renowned as a poet and a soldier" (p. 224) - and the ruler's attempts to develop industrial and agricultural output. He ends with a detailed survey of Anglo-Yemeni relations from an insider's vantage point. The plates, reproducing images shown in Seager's lecture, include shots of Taiz and Ridha, as well as six photographs of different Yemeni residents including soldiers, women in outdoor dress, and Zeidis (Zaydis). Large octavo, pp. 214-30 within the journal. Original red card wrappers, spine and front cover lettered in black. With 4 half-tone plates. Spine cocked and a little faded, wrappers lightly creased, small faint stain on front cover, internally clean and bright. A near-fine copy. Not in Macro.