American Orientalism - 3rd Edition by Douglas Little (Paperback)

About the Book

American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East since 1945

Book Synopsis

Douglas Little explores the stormy American relationship with the Middle East from World War II through the war in Iraq, focusing particularly on the complex and often inconsistent attitudes and interests that helped put the United States on a collision course with radical Islam early in the new millennium. After documenting the persistence of "orientalist" stereotypes in American popular culture, Little examines oil, Israel, and other aspects of U.S. policy. He concludes that a peculiar blend of arrogance and ignorance has led American officials to overestimate their ability to shape events in the Middle East from 1945 through the present day, and that it has been a driving force behind the Iraq war. For this updated third edition, Little covers events through 2007, including a new chapter on the Bush Doctrine, demonstrating that in many important ways, George W. Bush's Middle Eastern policies mark a sharp break with the past.

Review Quotes

"A wonderfully rich and well-written narrative of American involvement in the Middle East since 1945. . . . [Readers] will ultimately find [Little's] account of American misperceptions of the Middle East and Islam convincing and will recognize that 'they don't hate us' for being benevolent and democratic and fair; rather, those that do 'hate us, ' do so for decades of policies promoting exploitation of cheap oil (often through covert intervention) and Soviet containment rather than Arab-Muslim development, as well as American support for a strong Jewish state, all at the expense of everyday Arabs and Muslims." -- Review of Politics

"An excellent resource for students of the Middle East." -- H-Levant

""What emerges clearly from [Little's account] is how little Washington understood the consequences of foisting its cold war obsessions upon a region with other things on its mind. . . . [An] entertainingly written series of essays." -- The Nation

"A study of revolutions, Middle East-style. . . . It is remarkable how much of the inside story [Little] has been able to obtain. . . . Little's vigorously argued, thematic account is sound. . . . [This book is] aimed at attracting a wide readership, which [it] certainly deserves." -- Times Literary Supplement

"Informative and well balanced, this work of diplomatic and political history raises provocative questions . . . that shed an intriguing light not only on the events of September 11 but on the past 60 years of American encounters with the Middle East." -- Publishers Weekly

"Little provides literary flair, both in his references to fiction and in his own writing style. . . . A solid collection of essays dealing with multiple facets of U.S. relations with the Middle East and offer[ing] a bold and simple thesis about American attitudes toward the region." -- Journal of Cold War Studies

"Little's book is a valuable contribution to scholarly literature on U.S. involvement in the Middle East. . . . General readers will appreciate its lively prose, broad narrative sweep, and freedom from academic jargon. . . . An impressive achievement." -- Reviews in American History

"Little's detailed and well-documented chapters are very much in the manner of Twain, offering an ironic description of American thought and action regarding the Middle East. Not a bad thing, that." -- Foreign Affairs

"Seldom has a book been more timely or essential than Douglas Little's essays on American policy in the Middle East. . . . Little offers some refreshing clarity. He has combined broad reading and research with sober judgment to help readers understand the pattern of American Middle East policy." -- Journal of American History

"This is a commendable work to all concerned with the Middle East." -- Virginia Quarterly Review