From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East - Hardcover

Bernard Lewis

3.8

257 ratings by Goodreads

9781422351246: From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1422351246 ISBN 13: 9781422351246

Publisher: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004

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Here, the respected scholar Bernard Lewis has brought together his reflections on Middle Eastern history & foreign affairs written over six decades. The collection ranges from English originals of articles published before only in foreign languages, to previously unpublished writings to his highly regarded essays from publications such as Foreign Affairs & The New York Review of Books. With more than 50 pieces in all, prefaced by a new, personal memoir by Lewis, this volume contains a wealth of profound reflections on Middle Eastern history, culture, politics, & current events. Remarkable succinct . . . A concise study of the Muslim world s responses to the West & of its own long, sad decline. The worlds foremost Islamic scholar.

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About the Author:

Bernard Lewis is Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Emeritus, at Princeton University. His most recent books are The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror and What Went Wrong?, both national bestsellers and the latter a New York Times Notable Book for 2002.

From Publishers Weekly:

As this collection of writings and speeches from the last 40 years demonstrates once again, Lewis is probably the world's most erudite scholar of the Middle East. The pieces cover virtually all aspects of the region—from medieval Turkish history to the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and everything in between. Food for thought abounds: In one essay, Lewis notes that Islam and Christianity had different relations to Judaism because while Christianity wanted to replace Judaism, Islam was more comfortable incorporating Judaism into its traditions. The pieces are divided into three sections: past history, present history and reflections on the historical profession as it relates to the Middle East. The essays are more scholarly than Lewis's bestselling What Went Wrong?—for instance, one focuses on etymology and the origins of propaganda in early Arabic states. As a whole, they demonstrate Lewis's long-held contention that Islam has been unable to modernize and a clash of civilizations with the West was inevitable. Lewis is considered one of the intellectual architects of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, so it is of interest that in one essay, he asks what the West should do to help bring about change in the Middle East, and answers, "As little as possible." (Confused readers should note that the essay was written in 1957.) As a result of its scholarly bent, this book may attract a narrower audience than his other recent works, but they reflect the thinking of a profound mind.
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