History and September 11th (Critical Perspectives on the Past) [Paperback]

Joanne Meyerowitz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Critical Perspectives on the Past | Publication Date: July 2003

The contributors to this landmark collection set the attacks on the United States in historical perspective. They reject the simplistic notion of an age-old "clash of civilizations" and instead examine the particular histories of American nationalism, anti-Americanism, U.S. foreign policy, and Islamic fundamentalism among other topics. With renewed attention to Americans' sense of national identity, they focus on the United States in relation to the rest of the world. A collection of recent and historical documents speeches, articles, and book excerpts supplement the essays. Taken together, the essays and sources in this volume comment on the dangers of seeing the events of September 11 as splitting the nation's history into "before" and "after." They argue eloquently that no useful understanding of the present is possible without an unobstructed view of the past. Joanne Meyerowitz is Professor of History at Indiana University and editor of "The Journal of American History".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This collection of essays, complete with primary sources, by noted scholars in the fields of terrorism, the Middle East, fundamentalist religious movements, anti-Americanism and foreign relations, attempts to provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the factors leading up to the terror attacks on September 11. Each essayist focuses on a distinct part of the puzzle, ranging from the United States' presence in Afghanistan in the 1940s and the results of Cold War patriotism to a 200-year history of Arab-American relations and the notion of American values and nationalism. Collectively, "the authors comment on the dangers of forging or analyzing policy without keen awareness of history, and they tell cautionary tales involving critical moments in the past," all the while rejecting the "sweeping panoramas that portray an age-old 'clash of civilization' between Islam and the West," writes editor Meyerowitz, a professor of history at Indiana University and editor of the Journal of American History. 19 b&w illus., 2 maps.
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Review

"The collection of essays serves as an antidote to the amnesia fostered by a passive media and political administrations to provide us with complex multi-perspectival understanding of our world and an imperative to see our local and national milieu in a broader global context... [it] is well organized, with a useful overview by [editor] Meyerowitz." The Indiana Magazine of History "This is a splendid collection of essays that helps us make sense of the background and the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Those attacks have resulted in deeper U.S. involvement in the Middle East, but, unfortunately, the nation and the rest of the world have not necessarily come closer together. There is no better way to understand how such a situation has come about than to turn to these thoughtful, clearly written essays by some of the leading historians today. Every piece is excellent without exception." --Akira Iriye, Professor of History, Harvard University, and author of Global Community: The Role of International Organizations in the Making of the Contemporary World "This book represents an impressive, important, and timely mobilization of historians. They usefully address the national and international historical meanings the terrible events of 9/11 and the challenges its aftermath poses for American domestic and foreign policies. These essays and documents provide essential material for discussion, whether in the classroom or in the larger public realm." --Tom Bender, Professor of History, New York University, and editor of Rethinking American History in a Global Age "This collection of essays, complete with primary sources, by noted scholars in the fields of terrorism, the Middle East, fundamentalist religious movements, anti-Americanism and foreign relations, attempts to provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the factors leading up to the terror attacks on September 11." --Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Temple Univ Pr (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592132030
• ISBN-13: 978-1592132034
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #737,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)