Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 240 pages
- Published by: Oxford University Press, USA October 27, 1994
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0195090616
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0195090611
-
Book Dimensions:
9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
- Weighs: 10.4 ounces
From Library Journal
In this collection of essays, Lewis (Professor Emeritus of Near East Studies, Princeton) is concerned with relations between the Islamic and European civilizations. Lewis, well known for his myriad works on the Middle East (most recently, Race and
Slavery in the Middle East , Oxford, 1990), focuses on perceptions and reactions to intercultural contact and the problems that preclude understanding. In 11 essays, he explores questions of patriotism, economics, and linguistics. In part, this collection is a skillful rebuttal to the attack by Edward Said ( Orientalism , LJ 11/1/78) and others against Western scholarship, motives, and interpretations of the Middle East, which challenged savants such as Lewis himself. A work of sound scholarship; highly recommended.
- Paula I. Nielson, Loyola Marymount Univ. Lib., Los AngelesCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Eleven superb essays on the culture clash between the Islamic nations of the Middle East and the more secularized West; from distinguished Orientalist Lewis (Near Eastern Studies/Princeton; Semites and Anti-Semites, 1986, etc.). Scholarly but not pedantic, writing without fear or favor, Lewis makes an ideal guide through the political, religious, and cultural thickets of Islam. As the range of subjects demonstrates, his reach is as wide as his touch is sure. His tone is objective throughout, except for two pieces: a searing critique of Edward Said and other critics of Orientalism for their ``science-fiction history andlexical Humpty-Dumptyism''; and an impassioned defense of non-Western studies against adversaries who employ contradictory rhetoric to mask a hidden agenda (``If we don't study and teach other cultures we are called arrogant and ethnocentric and if we do we are accused of spoliation and exploitation''). Lewis begins with a capsule history that outlines the odd affinities and tensions between Europe and the Islamic nations--a struggle in which each side has called the other ``infidel'' and has swapped commercial and military supremacy. He also considers medieval Islamic debates on worship in lands where the teachings of Mohammed did not hold sway--and the implications of this today amid the Arab diaspora to Europe and America. Lewis is equally comfortable with more specialized topics, including Edward Gibbon's influence on the Western image of Mohammed; the difficulties of translating from Arabic; and the Ottoman threat to Europe until the Turkish defeat at Vienna in 1683. The author concludes with four meditations on the contemporary Islamic response to Western might, discussing resurgent Islamic fundamentalism as a unifying factor in Mideast politics; the split between the Shi'a and Sunni sects; the passage of the concept of ``country'' into Islamic lands; and why few Islamic countries have traditions of religious coexistence and secularism. A learned, forceful analysis that treats Islam with respect, not condescension. (Photos) --
Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader ReviewsBernard Lewis, the dean of Middle East scholars, has been much lambasted by people like Edward Said, who have pummeled him with all manner of polemics. None of that caterwauling masqueraded as debate has removed Lewis from his throne as the leading living Middle East scholar. What makes Lewis such a marvel is that, in a field beset with politics, he neither seeks to eviscerate nor canonize his subject. Here is a man who loves Arab culture and Arabic, but is capable of insightful commentary and analysis. Lewis' work on how Islam and "the west" encountered each other, defined themselves as being in opposite of the "other," and the conflicts that arose is still the standard. Even more enjoyable, Lewis writes with a wonderful readable style and presents the information in an accessible way. I highly recommend this book and, if you like it, you should pick up his other classic, Middle East and the west. 2
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