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Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East
by: Robin Wright

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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.054
EAN: 9781594201110
ISBN: 1594201110
Label: Penguin Press HC, The
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 480
Publication Date: February 26, 2008
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Sales Rank: 24422
Studio: Penguin Press HC, The

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
A magnificent reckoning with the extraordinary changes engulfing the Middle East, by one of our greatest reporters on the region

Robin Wright first landed in the Middle East on October 6, 1973, the day the fourth Middle East war erupted. She has covered every country and most major crises in the region since then, through to the rise of Al-Qaeda and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. For all the drama of the past, however, the region's most decisive traumas are unfolding today as the Middle East struggles to deal with trends that have already reshaped the rest of the world. And for all the darkness, there is also hope. Some of the emerging trends give cause for greater optimism about the future of the Middle East than at any time since the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948.

Dreams and Shadows is an extraordinary tour d'horizon of the new Middle East, with on-the-ground reportage of the ideas and movements driving change across the region-and the obstacles they confront. Through the powerful storytelling for which the author is famous, Dreams and Shadows ties together the players and events in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, the Gulf states, and the Palestinian territories into a coherent vision of what lies ahead.

A marvelous field report from the center of the storm, the book is animated by the characters whose stories give the region's transformation its human immediacy and urgency. It is also rich with the history that brought us to this point. It is a masterpiece of the reporter's art and a work of profound and enduring insight.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Required reading for all who want to understand the Middle East.
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 ... Read More

Rating:

- Excellent and easy to read overview of the middle-east
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.

Rating:

- Good, not great
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.

Rating:

- A hopeful book
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.

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