Synopses & Reviews
The history of America's political, military, and intellectual involvement in the Middle East from George Washington to George W. Bush. "Will shape our thinking about America and the Middle East for years."Christopher Dickey, NewsweekFrom the first cannonballs fired by American warships at North African pirates to the conquest of Falluja by the Marinesfrom the early American explorers who probed the sources of the Nile to the diplomats who strove for Arab-Israeli peacethe United States has been dramatically involved in the Middle East. For well over two centuries, American statesmen, merchants, and missionaries, both men and women, have had a profound impact on the shaping of this crucial region. Yet their story has never been told until now. Drawing on thousands of government documents and personal letters, featuring original maps and over sixty photographs, this book reconstructs the diverse and remarkable ways in which Americans have interacted with this alluring yet often hostile land stretching from Morocco to Iran, from the Persian Gulf to the Bosporus. Covering over 230 years of history, Power, Faith, and Fantasy is an indispensable work for anyone interested in understanding the roots of America's Middle East involvement today. As Niall Ferguson writes, "If you think America's entanglement in the Middle East began with Roosevelt and Truman, Michael Oren's deeply researched and brilliantly written history will be a revelation to you, as it was to me. With its cast of fascinating charactersearnest missionaries, maverick converts, wide-eyed tourists, and even a nineteenth-century George BushPower, Faith, and Fantasy is not only a terrific read, it is also proof that you don't really understand an issue until you know its history." 68 illustrations; 4 maps. With a new afterword for the paperback.
Review
"When a brilliant, lucid historian such as Michael B. Oren . . . brings the past back to life . . . it is a shaft of light in a dark sky." Robert Kagan
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"Hugely ambitious, drawing on hundreds of original sources to create a finely balanced overview of this enormously complex subject." Washington Post Book World
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"Elegant and engaging.... Had George W. Bush been abled to read this magnificent book before he launched Operation Iraqi Freedom... he might well have realized just how dangerous it has been to shoot first and ask questions later in the Middle East over the past 200 years." Max Rodenbeck New York Times Book Review
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"A tour de force, brilliantly researched and written, and extremely interesting as well as informative." Douglas Little Foreign Affairs
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"Michael Oren's deeply researched and brilliantly written history will be a revelation to you." Henry Kissinger
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"A landmark achievement." Niall Ferguson, Harvard University, author of Colossus
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"A landmark achievement." Henry Kissinger
Synopsis
This best-selling history is the first fully comprehensive history of America's involvement in the Middle East from George Washington to George W. Bush. As Niall Ferguson writes, "If you think America's entanglement in the Middle East began with Roosevelt and Truman, Michael Oren's deeply researched and brilliantly written history will be a revelation to you, as it was to me. With its cast of fascinating characters--earnest missionaries, maverick converts, wide-eyed tourists, and even a nineteenth-century George Bush--Power, Faith, and Fantasy is not only a terrific read, it is also proof that you don't really understand an issue until you know its history."
Synopsis
"Will shape our thinking about America and the Middle East for years."--Christopher Dickey,
Synopsis
This best-selling history is the first fully comprehensive history of America"s involvement in the Middle East from George Washington to George W. Bush. As Niall Ferguson writes, 'If you think America"s entanglement in the Middle East began with Roosevelt and Truman, Michael Oren"s deeply researched and brilliantly written history will be a revelation to you, as it was to me. With its cast of fascinating characters'"earnest missionaries, maverick converts, wide-eyed tourists, and even a nineteenth-century George Bush'"Power, Faith, and Fantasyis not only a terrific read, it is also proof that you don"t really understand an issue until you know its history.'
Synopsis
tells the remarkable story of America's 230-year relationship with the Middle East. Drawing on a vast range of government documents, personal correspondence, and the memoirs of merchants, missionaries, and travelers, Michael B. Oren narrates the unknown story of how the United States has interacted with this vibrant and turbulent region.
About the Author
Michael B. Oren, Senior Fellow at the Shalem Center, has written numerous works on the Middle East, including the New York Times bestsellers Six Days of War and Power, Faith, and Fantasy. He has taught at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown universities, and currently serves as Israel's ambassador to the United States.