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What Went Wrong?: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response 1st Edition
Bernard Lewis (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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In this intriguing volume, Bernard Lewis examines the anguished reaction of the Islamic world as it tried to understand why things had changed--how they had been overtaken, overshadowed, and to an increasing extent dominated by the West. Lewis provides a fascinating portrait of a culture in turmoil. He shows how the Middle East turned its attention to understanding European weaponry and military tactics, commerce and industry, government and diplomacy, education and culture. Lewis highlights the striking differences between the Western and Middle Eastern cultures from the 18th to the 20th centuries through thought-provoking comparisons of such things as Christianity and Islam, music and the arts, the position of women, secularism and the civil society, the clock and the calendar.
Hailed in The New York Times Book Review as "the doyen of Middle Eastern studies," Bernard Lewis is one of the West's foremost authorities on Islamic history and culture. In this striking volume, he offers an incisive look at the historical relationship between the Middle East and Europe.
- ISBN-100195144201
- ISBN-13978-0195144208
- Edition1st
- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication dateDecember 1, 2001
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions8.57 x 5.79 x 0.84 inches
- Print length192 pages
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Review
"Arguably the West's most distinguished scholar on the Middle East."--Newsweek
"Lewis has done us all--Muslim and non-Muslim alike--a remarkable service....The book's great strength, and its claim upon our attention, [is that] it offers a long view in the midst of so much short-term and confusing punditry on television, in the op-ed pages, on campuses and in strategic studies think tanks."--Paul Kennedy, The New York Times Book Review
"When it comes to Islamic studies, Bernard Lewis is the father of us all. With brilliance, integrity, and extraordinary mastery of languages and sources, he has led the way for Jewish and Christian investigators seeking to understand the Muslim world."--National Review
"A timely and provocative contribution to the current raging debate about the tensions between the West and the Islamic world....One wishes leaders in the Islamic world would pay heed to some of Lewis' themes."--Stanley Reed, Business Week
"A sobering picture, delivered with persuasive detail and respect. Bernard Lewis comes not to bury Islam, but to praise what it once was--and might be again."--Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer
"Lucidly argued and richly supported by telling quotations....Lewis is a persuasive chronicler of Muslim resistance to change and modernity."--Robert Irwin, Washington Post Book World
"An accessible and excitingly knowledgeable antidote to today's natural sense of befuddlement."--Michael Pakenham, Baltimore Sun
"Replete with the exceptional historical insight that one has come to expect from the world's foremost Islamic scholar."--Karen Elliott House, Wall Street Journal
"A provocative and suggestive review of Islamic response to ideas and practices of the Christian West....Lewis has given us a thoughtful treatment of the historical backdrop of the Sept. 11 tragedy."--Fritz Lanham, Houston Chronicle
"A compelling book. One of our most distinguished historians throws a floodlight on that cruel divide between the West and the societies of Islam. Learned and urgent at the same time."--Fouad Ajami, The Johns Hopkins University
"I know of no other scholar of Islam in the Western world who has more thoroughly earned the respect of generalists and academics alike than Bernard Lewis, a towering figure among experts on the culture and religion of the Muslim world....He has produced a topical, accessible and excitingly knowledgeable antidote to today's natural sense of befuddlement."--Michael Pakenham, Baltimore Sun
"An introduction to some important issues--and a lot of food for thought."--Christian Science Monitor
"Only a scholar of Bernard Lewis's quality could produce the sweep and depth of this fascinating analysis. He gives meaning to history, and illumination and challenge to the question he poses. He brings a clear and lively style to this beautifully written book."--George P. Shultz
"Muslim loss of civilizational leadership and retreat from modernity is at the center of global history over the last five hundred years and remains at this very time a major factor in international conflicts and diplomatic quarrels. What went wrong? Indeed. Muslims often have the feeling that history has somehow betrayed them, and on no comparable issue is the historian's potential contribution more important--the more so because the subject is plagued by ideological commitments, partisan blather, and the constraints of political correctness. People have shunned the topic for all the wrong reasons. All the more reason to be grateful for Bernard Lewis's interventions. No one knows better the languages and motivations of the players, and no one is more reliable in the objectivity of his judgments."--David Landes, Harvard University
"Both scholarly and interesting, it is a treat to read history from a Muslim perspective. It is very instructive for acquiring both religious and cultural understanding."--Timothy Yoder, Assistant Professor, Philadelphia Biblical University
From the Back Cover
"A compelling book. One of our most distinguished historians throws a flood-light on that cruel divide between the West and the societies of Islam. Learned and urgent at the same time."--Fouad Ajami, The Johns Hopkins University
"Muslim loss of civilizational leadership and retreat from modernity is at the center of global history over the last five hundred years and remains at this very time a major factor in international conflicts and diplomatic quarrels. What went wrong? Indeed. Muslims often have the feeling that history has somehow betrayed them, and on no comparable issue is the historian's potential contribution more important--the more so because the subject is plagued by ideological commitments, partisan blather, and the constraints of political correctness. People have shunned the topic for all the wrong reasons. All the more reason to be grateful for Bernard Lewis's interventions. No one knows better the languages and motivations of the players, and no one is more reliable in the objectivity of his judgments."--David Landes, Harvard University
About the Author
Bernard Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University. A highly eminent authority on Middle Eastern history, the author of over two dozen books, most notably The Arabs in History, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, The Political Language of Islam, The Muslim Discovery of Europe and The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2000 Years.
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Product details
- Publisher : Oxford University Press; 1st edition (December 1, 2001)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 192 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0195144201
- ISBN-13 : 978-0195144208
- Lexile measure : 1370L
- Item Weight : 13.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 8.57 x 5.79 x 0.84 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #805,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #227 in Middle Eastern History (Books)
- #639 in International Relations (Books)
- #821 in African Politics
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Bernard Lewis, FBA (born 31 May 1916) is a British-American historian specializing in oriental studies. He is also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Lewis' expertise is in the history of Islam and the interaction between Islam and the West. He is also noted in academic circles for his works on the history of the Ottoman Empire.
Lewis served as a soldier in the British Army in the Royal Armoured Corps and Intelligence Corps during the Second World War before being seconded to the Foreign Office. After the war, he returned to the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and was appointed to the new chair in Near and Middle Eastern History.
Lewis is a widely read expert on the Middle East and is regarded as one of the West's leading scholars of that region. His advice has been frequently sought by policymakers, including the Bush administration. In the Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, Martin Kramer, whose PhD thesis was directed by Lewis, considered that over a 60-year career Lewis has emerged as "the most influential postwar historian of Islam and the Middle East."
Lewis' views on the Armenian Genocide have attracted attention. He acknowledges that massacres against the Armenians occurred but does not believe it meets the definition of genocide. He is also notable for his public debates with the late Edward Said concerning the latter's book Orientalism (1978), which criticized Lewis and other European Orientalists.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Photo credit: Office of Communications, Princeton University. (1 English Wikipedia) [Attribution, GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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To a Western observer, schooled in the theory and practice of Western freedom, it is precisely the lack of freedom--freedom of the mind from constraint and indoctrination, to question and inquire and speak; freedom of the economy from corrupt and pervasive mismanagement; freedom of women from male oppression; freedom of citizens from tyranny--that underlies so many of the troubles of the Muslim world. But the road to democracy, as the Western experience amply demonstrates, is long and hard, full of pitfalls and obstacles.
I don't even necessarily disagree with the conclusion, but what is there in the way of argument that this is the correct position to assume? And is this Lewis's position? If so, why not have established it upfront as the thesis and then made the remainder of the book an argument and provided support for this thesis? Probably because this book was originally a series of lectures he had given that begin with some kind of topic, like Islamic warfare, for instance, and then each meander for 20 or so pages without a thesis.
Although this was written prior to 9/11, it could not be timelier. This is a timely read if you want if know about the culture that expanded from its roots in Mecca and Medina to one that ruled the Mid East, northern Africa, Spain, and Portugal and finally knocked at the gates of Vienna, not once, but twice. It is a history that we are dealing with today. Bernard Lewis presents a compelling argument that as military failures occurred, one explanation that took root in the Islamic world was that God was displeased because Muslims were not leading lives in accordance with God’s wishes. Religious leaders became more powerful, and culture became more insulated. They seem to have been disinterested in Europe.
This is a timely read, if you want to know about the culture that saw no rights for slaves, infidels, and women in the 7th century, and sees not need to change that stance even in the 21st century.
This is a timely read if you want to understand just what questions are being asked and answered. Is the question “What went wrong?” or is it “Who did this to us?” One answer leads to taking corrective actions and implementing change, the other answer leads to blaming others. I think that Professor Lewis does address what went wrong. What he does not do is this… he does not present us with a solution of how to fix it. He does not tell us how we can survive together… or even if we can.
I highly recommend this book.
Top reviews from other countries

The book seeks to explain why a civilisation which reached such heights is today at this sorry state. It does so convincingly.



