Non-Fiction/Middle East

[stizwv]

I read See No Evil by Robert Baer and realized my
knowledge of the Middle East was WEAK...

A few weeks later I came across this book:

From Beirut to Jerusalem (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385413726/qid=1033047238/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-9489095-7259826?v=glance&n=507846)

I'm about 100 pages into it and it's a great book. This is NOT a
dry history book...it's a quick read...

From Amazon:

Book Description
From Beirut to Jerusalem, winner of the 1989 National Book Award for nonfiction, is the startling, intense and thought-provoking account of Thomas L. Friedman's decade of reporting in the strife-ridden Middle East.
Thomas L. Friedman has won two Pulitzer Prizes -- one for his reporting in Beirut and one for reporting in Jerusalem, the two cities at the center of the Arab-Israeli conflict. No two cities have received more headline coverage, nor been more hotly debated, and no reporter has covered them more in depth than Friedman. in his journey from Beirut to Jerusalem, Friedman gives us a panoramic view of both the political and personal conflicts.

As a reporter for UPI and The New York Times, he was stationed in Beirut from 1979 to 1984, and in Lebanon from 1984 to 1989. He describes with intense vividness the sometimes horrifying, sometimes wondrous cities, for which, he says, nothing in his life had prepared him.

[Gulf Yankee]

Originally posted by stizwv
I read See No Evil by Robert Baer and realized my
knowledge of the Middle East was WEAK...



I live in the middle east currently and I can assure you there is no more fucked-up place in the world.

Another good book for background on the middle east and the Arab mentality is "What Went Wrong" by Bernard Lewis, a Columbia professor.

[stizwv]

Thanks, I'll check that out...
I'm also reading a book called 'The Arabs...'
Originally written in 1987 but recently updated...

-stiz...

[Geoff_00]

Even though it's a bit old get Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E.Lawrence

[Purple36]

This is an excellent book if you need to interact with certain ME folks. The latest edition has a forward written by an instructor who worked at JFKSWC...at least he was there in 92.
MN



The classic study of Arab culture and society is now more relevant than ever. Since its original publication in 1983, the revised edition of Raphael Patai's The Arab Mind has been recognized as one of the seminal works in the field of Middle Eastern studies. This penetrating analysis unlocks the mysteries of Arab society to help us better understand a complex, proud and ancient culture. The Arab Mind discusses the upbringing of a typical Arab boy or girl, the intense concern with honor and courage, the Arabs' tendency toward extremes of behavior, and their ambivalent attitudes toward the West. Chapters are devoted to the influence of Islam, sexual mores, Arab language and Arab art, Bedouin values, Arab nationalism, and the pervasive influence of Westernization. With a new foreword by Norvell B. DeAtkine, Director of Middle East Studies at the JFK Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N.C., this book unravels the complexities of Arab traditions and provides authentic revelations of Arab mind and character.

About the Author
Raphael Patai was the author of over 600 articles and more than twenty books. A native of Hungary, he taught at Princeton, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania. A prolific cultural anthropologist, Dr. Patai died in 1996.

Paperback - (January 2002) 466 pages

[Purple36]

Guess I should've read the topic of this thread: Newly Released Books..ah well, anyway, The Arab Mind is still a great reference.
MN

[Gulf Yankee]

Originally posted by Lianluo
the intense concern with honor and courage

What a fucking joke.

The Arab interpretation of honor manifests itself in very unusual ways, the word of an Arab is worthless. Why is it that they negotiate endlessly and never accomplish anything? The typical gulf arab is about as honest as an Enron accountant. They lie without hesitation, have absolutely no moral qualms whatsoever about deceit or treachery, and will try to take advantage of an honest individual wherever and whenever they can.

As for courage, there is no more cowardly man on the face of the planet than an arab. They swagger and look tough when they are dealing with an unarmed populace but your typical arab is lazy, undisciplined, and utterly worthless in any type of armed conflict when their opposition has the means to defend himself.

This all comes from first hand experience.

[Purple36]

And the book explains just why that is and how to get through to one...minus a bullet, of course.

[mangda]

The Closed Circle by David Pryce-Jones. Is a good read.

[Aqaba]

Originally posted by Gulf Yankee
Bernard Lewis, a Columbia professor.

If only he were a Columbia professor. Their Middle East Studies department is full of assholes who think Lewis is a racist and imperialist for arguing that the Arabs have a few problems that are of their own making and not the legacy of colonialism.

www.campus-watch.org/article/id/316

[Gulf Yankee]

Originally posted by Aqaba


If only he were a Columbia professor. Their Middle East Studies department is full of assholes who think Lewis is a racist and imperialist for arguing that the Arabs have a few problems that are of their own making and not the legacy of colonialism.

www.campus-watch.org/article/id/316

My misunderstanding. He is a retired Professor from Princeton. I was writing from memory and didn't have the book in front of me. Thanks.

[KKG]

The Arab Mind is still a great reference.
MN

Good book. Very informative.

[BCoRanger]

The people over there despise TE Lawrence.

[KKG]

Good (http://www.ausa.org/pdfdocs/ARMYMag/Schneider.pdf) read (http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Lawrence/lawrence.asp)

[mara]

OK, I'm hearing a lot about all these good books, but I'm not seeing any of them heading my way... ;)

[Spinner]

Even though it's a bit old get Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E.Lawrence

How about Travels in Arabia Deserta by Charles M. Doughty. That's the book TE Lawrence carried with him during his journies through the mideast.

Once you get past the Victorian prose, it's pretty good.

[peter28]

My misunderstanding. He is a retired Professor from Princeton. I was writing from memory and didn't have the book in front of me. Thanks.

GY, maybe you wer refering to Edward Said who chaired at Columbia. Judging from your comments, it seems like you're a real Said fan:D

I read From Beirut to Jerusalem. It's one of my favorite books.

Karen Armstrong also wrote a good short history of Islam called- Islam

[KKG]

The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (free copy) (http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/l/lawrence/te/seven/), TE Lawrence