Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East by Robin Wright
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Book Reviews of Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East
Book Review: Required reading for all who want to understand the Middle East.
Summary: 5 Stars
If you really want to know what the Arab people dream off, then this book is for you. This book finally made me understand the Middle East.
The author discusses Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, but omits countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. We all have heard of Dubai, yet so little is known about it politically. Do the people support their ruler? I would really have loved to read what the author has to say about Dubai (whom many are calling the Hong Kong of the middle East).
The US gives a lot of money to Egypt annually, yet a dictator rules Egypt. President Mubarak rules Egypt as if he were a king. According to the author, he is now preparing his son to succeed him. Journalists are routinely imprisoned, and any opposition leader is immediately imprisoned. Why does the US continue giving money to such a government? Isn't the US supposed to support democratic countries?
I really liked the chapter on Syria. Syria's ruler was vicious, killing and imprisoning many of his people. Yet after his death, his son vowed to change things. Having been educated in Britain (and his wife in the US), he vows to bring democracy to Syria. He holds free debates, and allows newspapers to publish freely. Yet this was a short-lived dream for the people of Syria. A few months after promising democracy and freedom of speech, the young ruler imprisons all who opposed him, together with all unfriendly and critical journalists. Power truly corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is hard, if not impossible, for rulers to give up their power. The struggle of the Arab people is with this very human nature.
The chapter on Palestine was very fascinating. I always thought the Palestinian people were united against their common foe. Apparently this is not so. There is a lot of internal power struggle between the Palestinian people. Some say the former president of Palestine, Arafat, died a very rich person. His wife, having moved to Europe, was sued to return the money to the Palestinian people. The dream of the Palestinian people, like that of all the Arab people, is to have just leaders. But power corrupts, and you know the rest!
The best chapter of all is the one on Iran. Iran has been on the news lately because of its nuclear program. Today I read that Iran launched its first telecommunications satellite. Iran, a Muslim but non-Arab country, is the most advanced technologically of all the countries in the Middle East, barring Israel. There are 22 Arab countries. None of the Arab countries, except Lebanon, is a democracy. Iran is a democracy, with its president elected by the people. Did you ever wonder why the world is against Iran, a democratic country, yet with dictatorial countries like all the Arab countries?
I truly encourage this book for all those who want to better understand the history of Iran from the days of the Shah to the great revolution. Iran is being cast as the evil country for having a nuclear program. Don't many other countries have nuclear programs, like the US, France, Britain, Israel, China, India, and Pakistan, to name just a few? Is it wrong for Iran to try to defend itself when enemies surround it? The US is in Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, all neighboring countries to Iran. Israel is not far away, and it too has nuclear weapons. If the US were Iran today, wouldn't it too try to acquire nuclear weapons?
Why does the US support countries that are undemocratic? Does America embrace democracy for its own and hates it for others?
Book Review: Excellent and easy to read overview of the middle-east
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this book excellent. It gives an overview of the current middle-east situation. It details the various 'dreams' and 'shadows' that each country face. It frequently refers to anecdotes which makes it easy to read. Highly recommended.Book Review: Good, not great
Summary: 3 Stars
I had read Robin Wright's "The Last Great Revolution" about Iran and was excited to buy this book. However, I felt it was a bit too much of a chef's tour. Some of the anecdotes were interesting, even inspiring, but overall I felt the book was a bit too shallow. Wright recalls a few interviews here and there, but we don't get the depth of what we get in her prior book. It's one thing to use interviews and anecdotes in pursuit of a well-argued thesis, but another just to do so to give us a flavor of the Middle East. This makes much of the book a forgettable blur rather than a true learning experience.
Having said that, I thought her chapter on Iran in this book was by far the best. And if you do want a "chef's tour" or sampling of the Middle East, this book does do that well. I hope Wright expands her prior book on Iran and updates it, since she covers Iran very well.
Book Review: A hopeful book
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this to be a hopeful book. Robin Wright has spent years in the area and has contacts with the power structure. That plus her interviews with "ordinary" people gave her book validity. The middle east world has been expanded with access to the web and television. The seeds for change are there if we just get out of their way and give them time to develop. Book Review: Great book!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read a great deal about what is happening in the Middle East--but by far this book is the best summary regarding what is going on--
I think everybody in our government should be required to read it---
Well written and wonderfully informative--