Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Word from the Author, October 30, 2001
Interest has suddenly peaked, reviews are more numerous, and I want to say something about how the book is intended. It is a handbook, not a scholarly academic product, written to help people with personal interactions, and to explain differences and reasons for differences. I made every effort to have many Arabs and Muslims read it, checking for anything false or negative, and by this time, to my knowledge, everybody approves. I urge Arab readers not to assume that this is yet another negative evaluation of their society and culture. I speak Arabic, and collected information over the years from many people who do not speak English; I traveled and lived in the Arab World for over thirty years. The publisher gave the book its title; it does sound Orientalist, how "we" understand "the Arabs," but... I keep looking for anything in Arabic written by an Arab to help Arabs/Muslims/Mideasterners understand some of the behavior they observe in the West ("Understanding Americans/ Understanding Westerners"). I have never heard of anything like this, to date. There are so may misperceptions on both sides, we need anything we can find to explain, explain, explain. I welcome any comments about points which readers think need to be changed or modified, added or subtracted. My entire career has been devoted to writing Arabic-language materials, and directing Arabic-language classes, hoping to get as many Westerners as possible interested in the Arabic language and the Arab way of life. I hope there is nothing in the book that can be taken as gratuitous criticism or a value judgment as to whose way is better in any aspect. Having lived among Arabs my entire adult life, I do not think it impossible to have a genuine feeling for both Arabs and Westerners, how both groups think, live, what they care about, what they believe. We certainly need mutual understanding right now -- too many people are forming conclusions based on very wrong perceptions.
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17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good on Arabic customs, poor on geopolitics, September 4, 2003
This book is two books into one. The first book is essentially how to get along in Arabic countries. The second book is on geopolitics.When the author writes about Arabic social customs and misunderstanding between Arabs and Westerners, she is more often than not right on the mark. The two populations are obviously very different in their overall behavior and approach to many aspects of life. In a sense it is an extrapolation of the North/South behavioral axis you find in many countries. If you meet a Northern French or Italian, he typically will be more reserved, more serious, and somewhat introverted than his Southern counterpart who will be more joyful, louder, extrovert. The North/South behavioral axis is not so pronounced in the U.S., as it is in many European countries. In any case, take this North/South axis and compound it several times, and you get an idea of the gulf between the typical Western behavior and the Arabic one. The author does an excellent job at explaining the differences between these two cultures. And, the information she imparts on this subject is truly useful for anyone traveling, working, or living in Arabic countries. When the author shares her opinion about geopolitics, she is on quick sand. Her views on this subject are full of fallacies, contradictions, and errors. The author has no credentials and knowledge to support any of her subjective opinions. After all, her academic background is as an Arabic teacher. She has no academic degree in political science, international economics, demographics, or any other relevant discipline. And, it really shows. Had she stuck to Arabic customs, her book would have been so much better. There are many authors who will shed much light on the subjects of Arabs, Islam, and their relationship to the Western World. Some of the luminaries in this field include Bernard Lewis, Samuel Huntington, Thomas Friedman, and Robert Kaplan.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Appreciating the Culture of Arabs, September 19, 2002
The title of this book could easily be changed to "Appreciating the Culture of Arabs." I have never been to an Arab country and before reading this book had no interest in going to one. Now I hope very much to get the chance to visit one some day. I read this book mostly because I wanted a better understanding of a part of the world that is not being adequately explained in the Western popular press. The book makes generalizations, but I don't know how anyone could attempt to describe the behavior patterns and values of 150 million different people in less than 150 pages without doing so. I, like most Americans, am abysmally ignorant of Middle Eastern cultures. How many Americans know, for example, that polygamy is illegal in Iraq, that job opportunities for women are much better in Iraq than in the Arabian Peninsula, and that the Koran does not prescribe that women wear veils? I didn't know these and many other basic things about this vitally important region of the world until I read this book. The generalizations made in the book are ones that make me want to become acquainted with Arabs. The values the author says people in the Middle East place on piety, friendships, and family are ones that I share. I am sure the next time I meet an Arab I will be much more likely to want to become his friend.
With the very general impression of the peoples of the Middle East provided by Dr Nydell, I am inspired to read a more in-depth study. This simple book has whet my appetite and given me a hunger to learn more about Arabic speaking people.
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