Customer Reviews

The United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11 (The Great Courses(SM) by The Teaching Company(R))

5 star:		(3)
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3 star:		(1)
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This is a 12 CD lecture series by Professor Salim Yaqub of the University of Chicago. Professor Yaqub is an expert on Middle East history. The content of this series is quite good, but I found the delivery of the lectures to be lacking. Quite simply, the lectures are not palatable to listen to. Maybe Professor Yaqub is more entertaining with a live audience than in a recording studio. In any case, I found the series to be nothing but a recitation of dates and names and events. The facts are all there, but it is not presented such that you will have a decent chance of remembering them later. It would be much better if a good writer polished the script a bit and if a professional audio book narrator read it.

I found this lecture series to be an excellent overview of the historical interactions between the west and the middle east. While it did only provide a cursory disection of certain events, this could only be expected from a lecture series that covers such a long timeline of events. Overall, there is a good deal of knowledge to be gained from this series for anyone who is not very well versed in middle-eastern affairs. The speaker does not take for granted that the listener has any previous knowledge of the events, and therefore provides a good thorough background of the events leading up to every situation in the course of the historicla timeline covered. I highly recommend this series to anyone who is interested in learning more about the history that shapes many of the recent headlines in todays news.

This lecture series, as well as most of the work produced by the Teaching Company, is very informative and covers most of the important historical events in the Middle East from the end of WWI through Sept 11, 2001. Prof Yaqub discusses the various presidential doctrines and policy changes the US government adopted as it grew from an emerging to a world power after WWII as it affected the Middle East.

He is a very good lecturer. He stays away from jargon, presents as unbiased a historical overview as he can, while covering the issues in the contexts viewed by the proponents at the time. His voice and manner are very engaging and worth the investment in this series.

This is an incredibly informative and insightful series of lectures. They are well read and worth every penny!

This all encompassing series touches on every key aspect of U.S. relations with the Arabs and the Middle East. I especially appreciated the lecture devoted to the Kurds of Iraq and Turkey. I also found the two lectures detailing the life and motivations of Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, during that country's invasion and occupation by the Soviet Union, and afterward as he turned his attention to battling the United States, very compelling.

At the conclusion of the 24 lectures I had a greater understanding of events in the Middle East and greater respect for the challenges faced by the Arabs there and around the world.