#362 in History books
Reddit mentions of Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present
Sentiment score: 3
Reddit mentions: 8
We found 8 Reddit mentions of Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present. Here are the top ones.
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- The New York Times Bestseller
Features:
Specs:
| Height | 9.2 Inches |
| Length | 6.1 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | February 2008 |
| Weight | 2.26414743074 Pounds |
| Width | 1.5 Inches |
Quicksand, by Geoffry Wawro
Power, Faith, and Fantasy by Michael Oren
The Coming Anarchy by Robert Kaplan
The Revenge of Geography by Robert Kaplan
The Shia Revival by Vali Nasr (although to be honest I found this one a little dull)
Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Little America by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Soldiers of God by Robert Kaplan
Sleeping with the Devil by Baer
Dirty Wars by Jeremey Scahill
Ghost Wars by Steve Coll
Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile
The Way of the Knife by Mark Mazzetti
Eastward to Tartary by Robert Kaplan (I actually haven't read this one yet but it's definitely on my to do list and I'm a huge fan of Kaplan's writing, observation, and analysis.)
The Ends of the Earth by Robert Kaplan
This is a partial list of some books I've read in the past couple of years. I put stars next to the ones that I think are the really really excellent ones. Some of them aren't entirely about the Middle East but the concepts in them are really important if you want to understand the region. I hope you look through the list and at the very least look at some of the books that Amazon recommends to go along with these books.
Oh, you should also check out this essay. I like to think it's decent reading if you want to understand what motivated Bin Laden and the context surrounding his life.
If you manage to read just a few of these, and also keep up with the news (I recommend a subscription to the Economist and to the New York Times) you will be a phenomenally well educated person about the Middle East.
Read these two books:
Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present.
&
Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide.
As a non Christian (born Protestant but I don't practice), the religious connection between Israel & Christians here in the West doesn't have as much impact on me, but every freedom loving person should understand why supporting Israel is the moral & ethical thing to do. These books will help not only Americans but other Westerners understand why that support for Israel is so important.
It's a really, really complex question. The history of U.S. involvement in the region goes back centuries (This book is supposedly a great read: http://www.amazon.com/Power-Faith-Fantasy-America-Present/dp/0393330303)
The establishment of the state of Israel is a major factor of continued U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Involvement in the Middle East during the Cold War is another one. September 11 was also a powerful recent instigator.
Just to quickly address though it's not really fair to call them "backwards," particularly when intervention by the U.S. is a significant component of the region's ongoing difficulties.
I'm not even really sure where to begin so I'm interested to see if anyone can really offer a short synopsis.
Destabilization of the Middle East started when the British and Americans deliberately divided up the Middle East into countries with major ethnic divisions to make them easier to control. This is a gross over generalization but there is a great book about it if you want to learn more although its crazy long. http://www.amazon.com/Power-Faith-Fantasy-America-Present/dp/0393330303
Terrorism as a tactic, suicide bombing in particular, was actually used by the Jews when they came to what was then called "British Controlled Palestine." After WW2 the Zionist movement led to mass exodus from Jews out of Europe to Palestine. They essentially used terrorist tactics against the British to get them to leave (which worked).
Power, Faith, and Fantasy by Michael Oren.
This is a great read.
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Faith-Fantasy-America-Present/dp/0393330303
The US was "enamored" with Israel long before there was an Israel. US involvement in the Middle East and "The Holy Land" go back centuries.
Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East - 1776 to the Present by Michael Oren (Israel's present Ambassador to the US) is a very readable book that goes into the question you asked.
I'm a reader.
Currently reading:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393330303
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1455501379