Customer Reviews

Whitewashed: America's Invisible Middle Eastern Minority (Critical America (New York University Hardcover))

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I received the book in just a couple of days and I did not even reques prompt mailing. The book was in great condition. It looked like new.

John Tehranian has written a book that everybody in the USA should read. Unfortunately, his language tends to be stilted and will not serve his purpose well ... too bad, as this book is important.

We have become too complacent about our liberties and rights as citizens. He points out how our society has selectively denied human rights (even to citizens) on whimsical/racial/current-topic bases.

It's sad that the wonderful country that we enjoy is far from truly honoring the individual human spirit and giving credit to folks from other cultures who have come here and contributed to our society.

The USA is an on-going experiment for human dignity and freedom. The vast majority of the folks coming into our country bring us the diversity and the work ethic and the skills that we need.

God bless America, as it is still the best hope for the advancement of true freedom. A work in progress!

A message to the author: Don't write in a style appropriate for the Yale Law Review, if you want to talk to most of us.

This book was quite fascinating to read. For a long time, I have wondered how Arab Americans are considered "white/Caucasian" on the US Census, but are perceived as racially and/or ethnically different by most Americans. The history of that issue provided by Tehranian is thoughtful and eye-opening, and he creates a bridge from the past to the present to help you understand the situation today.

This book addresses one of the most relevant and timely issues for Middle Easterners today, bringing attention to the conflict they face between their racial classification as "white," and the increased discrimination they now experience in a post 9/11 world. It also makes one rethink the entire notion of "race." John Tehranian traces the history and development of race and the idea of "whiteness," arriving at the conclusion that it is ultimately a social construct based on everything but skin color. By citing fascinating US court cases regarding the racial classification of various individuals, John Tehranian illuminates the arbitrary nature of race, especially as it pertains to the Middle Eastern community in the US. Living in a post 9/11 world, this book is highly relevant not only to individuals of Middle Eastern descent, but to the population as a whole as we address the issue of discrimination against Middle Easterners. Mr. Tehranian has taken a very complex issue and presented it in an accessible and engaging manner, making it one of the most enjoyable and informative books I have ever come accross.

To say I was severely disappointed by this book would be a major understatement. I was extremely excited to purchase this book because I feel the topic and the light it shines on it is extremely important and ignored. Tehranian had a golden opportunity to write a book on important topic and get the word out. He could have done so in a book that was easy to read and would appeal to the masses. Instead, in typical blowhard law professor style, he essentially wrote a glorified law review piece that could appeal only to his fellow blowhard law professors. He squandered his chance to write a readable book and really do justice to the neglected truths in his book. I was sorely disappointed and dismayed.