The Arab Mind (Paperback)

~ (Author), Norvell B. De Atkine (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A sympathetic wide-ranging study." -- The New Yorker

[A]n impressive spread of scholarship...a major contribution in an important field. -- Publishers Weekly

Product Description

The classic study of Arab culture and society is now more relevant than ever. Since its original publication in 1983, the revised edition of Raphael Patai's The Arab Mind has been recognized as one of the seminal works in the field of Middle Eastern studies. This penetrating analysis unlocks the mysteries of Arab society to help us better understand a complex, proud and ancient culture. The Arab Mind discusses the upbringing of a typical Arab boy or girl, the intense concern with honor and courage, the Arabs' tendency toward extremes of behavior, and their ambivalent attitudes toward the West. Chapters are devoted to the influence of Islam, sexual mores, Arab language and Arab art, Bedouin values, Arab nationalism, and the pervasive influence of Westernization. With a new foreword by Norvell B. DeAtkine, Director of Middle East Studies at the JFK Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N.C., this book unravels the complexities of Arab traditions and provides authentic revelations of Arab mind and character.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 466 pages
• Publisher: Hatherleigh Press; Revised edition (February 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578261171
• ISBN-13: 978-1578261178
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #223,647 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

155 of 193 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars important but unsettling in where it is off-base, June 16, 2002

By	Dr. Susan Z. Swan (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews

This is a must-read book -- not because it is necessarily brilliant or especially insightful, but because so many people cite it and it captures well many common conceptions of and judgements about the Arab World. I have read this twice since 9/11 along with many other books to come to understand the culture in which I now live and teach. Each time I come away more unsettled, especially as Patai seems all too often to be saying that because the rhetorical strategies and the logical patterns of Arabs may (or may not) be different from Western minds, they are inadequate. While he doesn't often say this directly, the judgementalism that undergirds his discussion screams aloud this view. In many instances, he makes sweeping generalizations about the nature of all Arabs by citing a single instance, whether in Palestine, or Morroco, or Iran, or where ever. He then uses this one instance to make a grand claim that sounds good, but which may or may not have any legs to it. The nature of Arabs is no more universal from country to country than the "West" is universal from France to the US to Germany. Some of his arguments are grounded in citations of the work of others, but it is difficult to know the value of those as, again, there is much that is done as case studies of a single village or situation but used by this author as evidence for a much wider conclusion of the nature of the Arab mind. As an American living in the Gulf, it saddens me that the richness of the people and cultures here become so caricatured in this work. Read it--but don't assume that its pronouncements are gospel.

47 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experience tends to validate the observations of this book, December 25, 2004

By	D. J. Epright (San Antonio, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I took this book to Baghdad for my military assignment and left it there with friends who continue to use it to help inform their experiences. The book helped me understand what I was seeing with my own eyes and helped me avoid mis-steps that probably would have been misinterpreted. The book rang true with my experiences and helped me understand the Iraqi people, who I found to be generally good and noble. This books is not the be-all and end-all for Arab cultural understanding, but it seems to be an excellent jumping-off point. Westerners in Iraq "got points" from the Iraqis by merely TRYING to undertand their culture. Empathy, compassion and RESPECT go a long way in any culture, and certainly for the Iraqis.

67 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars in a class of its own, June 2, 2005

By	Caraculiambro (La Mancha and environs) - See all my reviews

If you're looking for a book about what has got all those Muslims so hopping mad in the last few years, steer clear of this book. For understanding the political and social implications of the Islamization of Europe and the post 9-11 world, you won't find much here that seems immediately relevant. For these purposes I would recommend instead Spencer's "Islam Unveiled" in combination with Ferguson's "Colossus."

This book is more of an anthropological analysis of the Arab character, although it's certainly not a formal field study or an academic book.

If you're looking for a book that examines and attempts to explain Arab psychology, why Arabs are the way they are, this is the book for you. It is superlative. The only book I can think of that rivals it is David Pryce-Jones's "The Closed Circle," which is very similar in theme and purpose (and renown).

To make a long story short, Patai's efforts are deeply enlightening. Reading this book carefully will prevent you from jumping to specious conclusions and concocting false theories about the culture and behavior of Arabs, something quite common to newcomers out here.

This book will also go a long way to helping you deal successfully with Arabs in business, educational, or diplomatic settings: for this purpose, it's much more instructive and worthwhile than any recently-minted tome I know of.

Its author, the late Rafael Patai, was a renowned Israeli Arabist who was very sympathetic to Arabs and the Palestinian cause.

Nevertheless, this book can appear quite insulting (to Arabs) from time to time. It is rare to find it in libraries in the Arab world; they certainly don't have to dig in it for long before they find something to object to. It is on the "index prohibitorum" in several Gulf countries.

But this book's reputation among Western expats in the Middle East could not be higher: copies of it are passed from hand to hand until the binding is shot and the pages are being held together with a rubber band. I have yet to see a copy of this book in good condition.