Customer Reviews

Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism (The Contemporary Middle East)

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I am a doctorate student and had read this book to write one of my exams. The book brings in one volume the history of Orientalism, anti-Orientalism, and the creation and development of area-studies programs in US. It presents the main theoretical assumptions, their critiques, and their change. It also discusses the main authors who shaped the field with their works and ideas. Besides, it situates these academic developments in their right socio-political contexts. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Middle Eastern studies.

Lockman provides an enlightening and engaging analysis of the development of Western perspectives of the Middle East. Beginning with a historical contextualization of the Greek and Roman perceptions and concluding with the current politics of Orientalism and beyond, this book identifies and connects key historical episodes of the interaction between the West and the Middle East which have indelibly shaped contemporary viewpoints. Lockman thoroughly and fair-mindedly catalogs the course of these Western perceptions, positing an accessible argument for scholars and non-scholars alike. However, the true power of Lockman's meticulous assessment lies with his ability to fairly examine competing perspectives in order to understand historical processes, challenge existing Western notions of the Middle East, and contextualize contemporary issues.

However, the book is fairly dense. In order to survey such a broad topic in a manageable book, words are not wasted. The book also reads more like an extended literature review since Lockman is continually citing the works, ideas, and theories of others (that said, it is a really good literature review!). Finally, his last chapter also loses his steadfast impartiality.

While dense, it is still accessible to the average reader. I would highly recommend this book to anybody interested in surveying the ideas of Orientalism and its implications on the Middle East and US.

A great read- for those interested in learning of the varied responses of academia to the study of the middle east. Lockman has done his research by investigating not only the work of his collegues, but those who have paved the path for Middle Eastern Studeis as it is today. Much time is devoted to the great orientalist Bernard Lewis and his contributions help form a generation of scholars in middle eastern studies. In addition to Bernard Lewis, Said's book Orientalism, hotly debated among scholars, receives two full chapters (one on the book itself, one on the aftermath).

This book is a great introduction to those interested in studying the middle east- offering a broad overview of different approaches and how they were shaped through the centuries while including information about today's governmental sway in institutional studies. Well written and easy to understand, Lockman has a style that helps puch the readers along from beginning to end while offering insight that is far reaching and pointed on a variety of subject. Thank you Lockman!

This book is as good as advertised. It talks about Western views of the Islamic world. And it is thorough. It does spend quite a while discussing the views of Ed Said. And it even mentions many of Said's critics and quotes them fairly.

Unfortunately, when Said writes nonsense, the author basically lets it pass, taking him to task only for some of his more extreme language. When others criticize some of Said's brayings, the critics are often condemned in no uncertain terms. Given how awful Said was, I find this inexcusably dishonest.

Nevertheless, I liked the book so much that I'm actually giving it two stars! Some of the criticisms of the Zionists are very thoughtful. It is true that we don't always predict the future accurately. And it is true that consistent failures of the antizionists to predict the future would not in itself prove that antizionism is somehow Wrong. In addition, there are plenty of facts in this book. It isn't completely worthless!