Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
The September 28, 1970 issue of Newsweek featuring Jordan's King Hussein on the cover documents one of the most dramatic and consequential crises in the modern history of the Middle East. The cover date falls in the final days of what became known as "Black September" — the Jordanian Civil War of September 1970, in which King Hussein's Hashemite government launched a military offensive against Palestinian Liberation Organization forces that had built a state-within-a-state in Jordan over the preceding years. The conflict was extraordinarily violent and geopolitically charged: Palestinian fedayeen fighters had been using Jordan as a base for operations against Israel; Syria had intervened with tank forces in support of the PLO; the United States and Israel were in active consultation about whether to intervene militarily on Hussein's behalf; and the Soviet Union was watching with interest. Hussein's survival as Jordan's monarch — and the survival of the Hashemite Kingdom itself — was genuinely in question during those September days. For collectors building a focused archive through the King Hussein magazines collection, this September 1970 Newsweek cover is the most historically charged single issue in the collection — a document of the moment his reign faced its greatest existential threat.
The broader geopolitical context of September 1970 amplifies this issue's significance considerably. It was one of the most dangerous months of the Cold War's Middle Eastern proxy conflicts: the Nixon administration was weighing military options, Henry Kissinger was managing the crisis from the NSC, and the fear of Soviet-aligned forces gaining control of Jordan and its border with Israel was a genuine strategic nightmare for American policymakers. Nasser of Egypt, who had brokered a ceasefire between Hussein and the PLO, died on September 28, 1970 — the exact date of this issue's publication — making this cover a document of an extraordinary convergence of Middle Eastern crises. The Newsweek cover featuring Hussein was published on the day Nasser died, which means the issue arrived at newsstands at the precise moment one of the region's defining postwar leaders was passing from the scene and the ceasefire he had negotiated was being tested. For anyone researching Newsweek's coverage of the Cold War Middle East, this September 28, 1970 issue is a document of extraordinary historical density. For the broader print record of 1970 as a pivotal year in American foreign policy and global politics, it is essential.
King Hussein himself was one of the twentieth century's more remarkable political survivors, ruling Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999 through a succession of existential crises — the 1967 Six-Day War's loss of the West Bank, the 1970 civil war documented by this cover, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and eventually his role in the 1994 peace treaty with Israel. A Newsweek cover from September 1970 captures him at what was arguably the most dangerous moment of that entire long reign, when the outcome was genuinely uncertain and his survival as monarch was not guaranteed.
About the Publication
Newsweek, founded in 1933 and by 1970 one of the two dominant general-interest newsweeklies in the United States alongside Time, covered politics, international affairs, science, culture, and social issues for a broad, educated mainstream American readership. Its Middle East and Cold War coverage in the early 1970s was among the most closely followed foreign policy journalism in the country, and its cover selections reflected editorial judgments about which international crises warranted mainstream American attention. A King Hussein cover in September 1970 reflected the magazine's recognition that Black September was a crisis with direct implications for American strategic interests, Israeli security, and the broader Cold War balance of power in the region.
Key Highlights Inside
- King Hussein of Jordan cover feature — documenting the Jordanian Civil War of September 1970 ("Black September") at its most critical phase, when the survival of the Hashemite Kingdom was genuinely uncertain and American, Israeli, and Soviet interests were all directly engaged.
- Coverage of the Nixon administration's crisis management during Black September, including the Syrian tank intervention, the potential American and Israeli military responses, and Kissinger's role in coordinating the U.S. response.
- Publication date of September 28, 1970 — the day Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser died, making this issue a document of an extraordinary convergence of Middle Eastern crises at a single historical moment.
- Newsstand copy without subscriber label — the preferred state for display-oriented collectors, presenting the full visual impact of the Hussein cover portrait without address label interruption.
- Note: Specific interior article titles, bylines, and additional features beyond the confirmed King Hussein cover story have not been independently verified from the listing. Interior details should be confirmed against a physical copy for comprehensive research purposes.
Condition & Rarity
Surviving copies of this issue in near mint to great condition represent an exceptional example of preservation for a fifty-five-year-old weekly newsmagazine. Near mint to great condition for a publication of this vintage indicates that the cover image retains full color and visual integrity, the spine shows no significant cracking or separation, and the interior pages remain structurally sound — well above the good condition that most surviving copies of this age display after decades of storage. A newsstand copy without subscriber label is the preferred state for both display and research, allowing the Hussein cover portrait to present without address label interruption. A plastic protective sleeve confirms deliberate preservation effort that has clearly been sustained over time given the exceptional reported condition. Middle East Cold War crisis covers of major American newsweeklies from this period are sought by diplomatic history researchers, King Hussein personal history collectors, and Newsweek completists simultaneously — and the historical density of September 28, 1970 as a date gives this issue exceptional research significance.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Cold War Middle East crisis covers in near mint newsstand condition are among the most historically specific items in American newsweekly collecting, and the September 28, 1970 King Hussein issue is one of the most consequential examples from this era. If this issue has already found a collector, the King Hussein magazines collection at OriginalMagazines.com gathers his most significant print appearances across his long reign. The full Newsweek collection is worth exploring for anyone building a broader archive of the publication's Cold War and Middle East coverage, and the complete 1970 magazines collection offers essential context for one of the most geopolitically consequential years of the Cold War era.