This is a short read that nonetheless covers a lot of ground. It’s mainly a history lesson and talks extensively about the colonial era, but -apart from a chapter delving into Israel and Palestine, as well as the Iran coup and the struggles over access to oil- there is relatively little post-WW2 his ...more

Stringently partisan, but well worth reading

Although I disagree with Professor Khalidi on a number of points, I want to make it clear at the outset that this is an excellent book, very well-written and edited, and driven with the sort of restrained passion that makes for a most interesting read. His ...more

Well...my professor wrote this book, so I can't be too harsh or he'll fail me. :) KIDDING. My professor is awesome and his book is nothing less than great. He presents not only the history and current situation of the region but also uses what he talks about as a way to introduce potential ways to s ...more

An excellent comparison of how America's actions in the early 2000's and before mirrored the actions of the violent European empires of history in the Middle East. Very interesting for those with an interest in the topic without a huge amount of background knowledge.

As it is, I didn't even think thi ...more

I expected this book to be a critique or an analysis of US imperialism in the Middle East. However, it is mostly a crash course on the modern history of the Middle East for the average American (who is assumed by Khalidi, perhaps justly so, to know next to nothing on the area). Thus, the focus of th ...more

I think this book has inspired me to look more into the history of a region that I am too unfamiliar with (and as Khalidi points out, most Americans are as well). The strongest point of the book was the chapter on Western oil interests in the Middle East, which was written quite cogently. However, t ...more

Every American student (and adult) should be required to read an Arab authored book about their view of history as it pertains to America's meddling in the region. Americans are VERY ignorant about the history and culture of the Arab region and it's led to ignorant, racist attitudes that allow bad a ...more

Published at the beginning of the Iraq War, this is great analysis of everything wrong with America's approach to the Middle East. Not only that, the book also makes the astute point that things we typologize as historical "givens" in US foreign policy are hardly that. 15 years later, Khalidi's omin ...more