Rating: 
Summary: Very Easy to read
Review: "The Middle East" by Bernard Lewis. published by Scribner. He is
the formost expert on matters relating to the Middle East and it isnt as detailed as some of his other more subject specific but is very informative about the culture and how history has shaped the Arab people and vice versa. It deals with different
themes instead of just straight time periods. It goes into some surface detail like commerce, war, religion, colonialism. I have a specialty in the Middle East and this book was used at the Master's level at the American University in Cairo, Egypt as an introduction though I dont feel that I personally would use it as a teaching tool. Otherwise the book is a good read but be attentive when reading.
Rating:
Summary: Down at the Souk
Review: "Middle East" is a fine survey of Arab history. Because of its breadth, it does not have as powerful a narrative as would a more focused study - but it is still useful to have, especially as a companion to other books on the topic. This book's greatest strength is found in Bernard's attempt to identify the peculiar differences between the Arab and Western mindset.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Introduction
Review: A very nice introduction to middle eastern history. Engagingly written, although events fly by at a furious pace. Told with equal emphasis on political and military history, hinting at culture and social history. To be honest, could have done more explaining cultural and social aspects of early Islamic empires. But, that would probably have been a much longer book.
A must have for anyone looking for an intro to middlea eastern history.
Rating: 
Summary: Outdated Thesis
Review: Bernard Lewis' arguments are stuck in the past. "Area studies" scholarship in general, and Middle Eastern Studies, in particular, have progressed by leaps and bounds whilst these arguments whose time has come and long gone still peddle what the colonialist in West-toxicated ("gharb-zadeh") minds craves.The arguments are repetitive, condescending, tenuous and unsupported; sweeping over-generalizations abound. If you want a veiled, 19-century European/British defence of colonialism, you will love this book and everything else Lewis writes (e.g. "What went Wrong"). If you have a mind that is interested in moving into the late 20th early 21st centuries, you will boil inside, as you will soon realize that these ideologies, also advocated in works such as "Militant Islam Reaches America" and "The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice since 1967," are the ones still driving American foreign and Near Eastern policy.
Rating: 
Summary: A tremedous history from the dean of Middle Eastern Studies
Review: Bernard Lewis' influence on Middle East and Arab studies is incalculable. His students are spread through the state department, think tanks, and accademia. His books are read worldwide by graduate students, including by Arab intellectuals. Depsite recent attacks on his scholarship, he contines to be the preemeninet man in the field. The Middle East is a relativelty short work and, as such, cannot go into great detail. Still, it provides an excellent overview and gives the reader a fine begining to continue to study the subject and a firm understanding of the basics. Lewis has written a number of short highly influential works that are filled with insights and thought provoking observations. This is certainly one of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Erudition with tragically important omissions
Review: Bernard Lewis's writing style is exceptional and his ability to juggle historical facts, etimology and perspective is very much to his credit. Readers will particularly enjoy his analysis of important societal factors, such as religion and culture independently of the strict timeline.
However, Lewis's factual integrity wavers a little when he introduces old-testament writing on the same forum and with the same legitimacy as his research. It is as if his factual analysis operates so long as the old, highly tenous, scriptures are reaffirmed and preserved within an otherwise very factually-focused book. And while I do believe that Lewis presents the majority of the events in sumptuous detail, his style throughout the books seems that of setting up and then meticulously criticizing almost every positive event in Islamic History, in a 1:10 ratio. His descriptions of the fantastic achievements of the Islamic Middle Ages are overwhelmed by explanations of why they failed and were doomed to fail, in a 'told you so' sort of style. His ommission of Arab/Islamic technological advancement and its massive contributions to Western civilization is so blatant that I almost wanted to stop reading the book; it is like ommitting the construction of the pyramids from a book on Ancient Egypt. Many readers who read this book after September 11, 2001 will be looking for historical background/perspective on the current Mideast issues. For this purpose the book plays very well to the Israeli cause, discussing the obvious failings and disorganization of newly formed Arab states and saying nothing too detailed of Israel's formation, its founders' atrocities etc. He discusses the support and interactions of the West on the development of Arab states, but does not mention the universal dependance of Israel on Western political and economic support. One is left thinking that Israel is saintly entity in an otherwise dangerous, valueless region. After finishing the book, I was happy with the extraordinary knowledge of Mideast History imparted on me but saddened by what I saw as a extremely skillful and subtle denegration of the achievements Arab/Islamic civilization and an equally agile preparation of the legitimacy of modern orientalism, anti-Arabism, and - in some ways most infairly - a clean justification of Israel's existence without presentation of the facts. In the current Mideast political climate a supposedly respected scholar such as Lewis has responsibility to educate in an unbiased fashion. He did not meet his responsibility in this book nor prove to me that he could overcome the pressure of his own religious affiliations to create a truly fair historical work.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Introduction with a Critical Perspective
Review: Books about the Middle East concerned less with current headlines, prognosticating, or analyzing policies seem in short supply, but Bernard Lewis's The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years is a welcome departure. Because it predates 9/11, it is more of a scholarly introduction than a cultural or political document. Two aspects of Lewis's The Middle East I appreciated were his historical and geographical framing, and his emphasis on Ottoman history. Although most of the book involves the Ottoman period, because of the volume of original sources, Lewis starts not with Mohammad classical period, but in the pre-classical empires of the Roman Empire and Persia. The perspective illustrates Islam's genius for adapting both indigenous and exogenous alternatives to local problems. Geographically, Lewis stays fixed on Ottoman and Persian territory, with only occasional references to Central Asian, European, African, and Southeast Asian history. This keeps the reader immersed in the region without following Islam's extended borders in other regions. Another aspect I liked was an emphasis on Ottoman history, and not classical Islam. There is entire section on culture, law, religion, and social classes, which acts as an interlude between the early Ottoman Period and modern times. Here he addresses very succinctly and diplomatically many issues relevant to contemporary discussions. Many readers no doubt will be disappointed by his apparent reticence, but he avoids placing the debate in the classical period. Lewis makes a controversial argument that is certainly counter-intuitive and offensive to Muslim fundamentalists. The West has not intervened in the Middle East, except for limited economic and political contacts over short periods. As a matter of fact, if Western countries had supported their limited forays with substantial aid and attention, the region might have benefited. Instead, Lewis blames the marginalization of the Middle East both on the demise of the region as a crossroads between east and west, and on the Muslim governments for not realizing the consequences of this change. Lewis points the finger mostly at Muslims, not the West. The only bad aspect of this book is its length: too short. Although Lewis blames this on the dearth of research on Ottoman official documents, there is certainly more spaces to be filled with information. But Lewis's outline is very fruitful and compelling. It might not satisfy advocates, but it challenges both Muslim and Western proponents to examine their approaches.
Rating:
Summary: Howard Zinn approach to Levant a bit too brief
Review: Contrary to previous reviewers, this book is NOT banal or dull. Bernard Lewis is the preeminent English-writing historian on the world's powderkeg region of today and has a wealth of knowledge on the area and its culture. For the average non-fiction reader, the text is not tough to read and has quite a bit of life to it, but if all you read is Oprah's Book of the Month, it may be a bit tedious. However, I can only give it three stars because, although it's subtitled "A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years," it was a bit too brief for my literary palate. I anxiously devoured the work eager to learn about Suleyman the Magnificent and Ataturk; instead I learned that the eggplant comes from the Middle East and a peach, at one time, was known as a Persian apple. And that's my biggest gripe with the book. Lewis titles it as an overview of the region giving prospective readers the idea it will cover famous Middle East leaders, its countries and their origins, and the timeless religious conflicts. Instead, the book takes a Howard Zinn approach to the region and covers in great detail the inhabitants and their religion, culture, economy, social castes, judicial systems, agriculture, etc. Over one-third of the book entitled "Cross-Sections" is on this subject matter, And although informative, it is impertinent to the political history of the Muslim world, which the title of the book implies it is about.
The only historical figure garnering a significant amount of ink in the book is, for obvious reasons, Muhammad. Lewis' basic explanation of the Muslim religion in his section "The Dawn and Noon of Islam," is an engrossing look into one of the major religions of the world and would be quite helpful to someone who is new to the subject matter. Lewis has a number of other books solely devoted to the subject matter but gives a good overview in this work.
With the large sections on culture and religion, there is little room left in the book on the political history itself. Lewis gives brief synopsis' on Iran's early history and the reign of the Ottoman Empire but little else. The 20th century info is contained in just 40 pages at the end of the last chapter.
Lewis does deserve extra credit for two helpful tools in the back with the reader-friendly chronology and informative maps. In conclusion, ask yourself what most interests you as the reader about the Middle East? If one is interested in the culture and everyday life, this book is a great start. If one wants the political history about the rulers and military leaders, I'd look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding history lesson
Review: Countering some of the past reviews of this work, I am giving it high praise. I found this book remarkable. True, it is a lot of time to fit into some 400 pages, and it does contain a great amount of detail, but those with a modicum of background on Middle Eastern and Islamic civilization, I think will find this a very good book. Lewis is a serious and intelligent scholar, and it is obvious that his knowledge is vast in its breadth. It is broken into four parts: Foundations, Early Islam, Cross-Sections, and the Challenge of Modernity. I have seen that many criticize the disruption to the flow of the work that the Cross-Sections represents, which focuses on things like culture, state, religion and law, etc. But I disagree. If one thing is clear it is that there is a clear break in Islamic civilization between its past glory and its present malaise. Lewis objectively examines this in a very factual and fair manner. The last section, which talks about Challenge, Change, War, etc. is really the story of how and why Islamic civilization declined relative to Europe after having experienced such great power and wealth. Also, the Cross-Sections offers a glimpse into the personal history of the region. It's focus on the internal structures and constructs of society is a great counter-balance to the history of conquests and defeats, the official `history' which is really always about the ruling elite. Lewis carefully describes the environment prior to the coming of Islam, the condition of Byzantium, and the environment of Arabia before Muhammad. A nomadic, tribal civilization, within 100 years, had been transformed into a vast Empire stretching from India to Spain, patronizing the arts, building breathtaking mosques, and learning the classical history of the West! That in itself is a respectable accomplishment. At its early ages, Islam was far more tolerant than Christianity; Muslims generally did not force the conversion of Christians and Jews (although they did to other peoples at times) and so-called `heretical' Christians received much better treatment than under the orthodox nature of the Byzantine state. The also were freer to acquire land and use it to better their livelihood. Islam took root at the center of the Old World. Largely due to this, they were continually threatened on the west by Europe and on the south and east by Turks and Mongols. This was bound to cause trouble of course, but the Islamic tradition proved powerful enough to convert the pagan conquerors; within 100 years, the Mongols were Muslims. Chaos and uncertainty of course occurred, but it proved transitory. A complete account of what life was actually like for Muslims of the time is contained in the Cross-Sections. You will read about the great age of Arabic love poetry, the brilliant accomplishments in architecture and science, the practical implications of the split between Sunni and Shiite. And most interestingly, for myself, the emergence of the Sufi mystical tradition, which had popular appeal among the commonality. A mystical, ecstatic tradition, it sought closeness with the unity of God through personal transcendent experience. The tradition combined aspects of older religions, Christianity, central Asian shamanism, Egyptian rituals, for example. Brotherhoods of Sufi dervishes were to become very important, particularly in the Ottoman Empire. The final section deals with the decline of the Middle East. Economic decline was accompanied by border conflicts for both the Ottomans and the Iranian Safavids, as both Russia and Europe began rising militarily and conquering strategic lands very valuable for their resources and/or access to international trading routes. The rise of nationalism, an import from Europe, proved unmanageable for the Ottoman Empire and disintegration of the peoples inevitably followed. The resources required for true industrialization were not in as great numbers as in Europe nor were they effectively utilized. Also, in companionship with the late Roman Empire, a qualitative decrease in the military ability of the Janissaries and reduced discipline led to a pattern of military defeat. The death knell, of course was WW1. Due to historical accidents, the Ottoman Empire became aligned with Germany. When Germany lost, so did the Ottoman Empire and Britain and France carved nations out of the fallen empire, and the struggle to adapt to that idea continues to this day. But, things are changing for the better. At the time of this writing there are many positive signals of democratic reform coming from Iran; more power to the Iranians. This book may be a bit dense, but it's very good. I have read several sections a couple of times.
Rating:
Summary: Great historical summary of ME
Review: Countering some of the past reviews of this work, I am giving it high praise. I found this book remarkable. True, it is a lot of time to fit into some 400 pages, and it does contain a great amount of detail, but those with a modicum of background on Middle Eastern and Islamic civilization, I think will find this a very good book. Lewis is a serious and intelligent scholar, and it is obvious that his knowledge is vast in its breadth. It is broken into four parts: Foundations, Early Islam, Cross-Sections, and the Challenge of Modernity. I have seen that many criticize the disruption to the flow of the work that the Cross-Sections represents, which focuses on things like culture, state, religion and law, etc. But I disagree. If one thing is clear it is that there is a clear break in Islamic civilization between its past glory and its present malaise. Lewis objectively examines this in a very factual and fair manner. The last section, which talks about Challenge, Change, War, etc. is really the story of how and why Islamic civilization declined relative to Europe after having experienced such great power and wealth. Also, the Cross-Sections offers a glimpse into the personal history of the region. It's focus on the internal structures and constructs of society is a great counter-balance to the history of conquests and defeats, the official 'history' which is really always about the ruling elite. Lewis carefully describes the environment prior to the coming of Islam, the condition of Byzantium, and the environment of Arabia before Muhammad. A nomadic, tribal civilization, within 100 years, had been transformed into a vast Empire stretching from India to Spain, patronizing the arts, building breathtaking mosques, and learning the classical history of the West! That in itself is a respectable accomplishment. At its early ages, Islam was far more tolerant than Christianity; Muslims generally did not force the conversion of Christians and Jews (although they did to other peoples at times) and so-called 'heretical' Christians received much better treatment than under the orthodox nature of the Byzantine state. The also were freer to acquire land and use it to better their livelihood. Islam took root at the center of the Old World. Largely due to this, they were continually threatened on the west by Europe and on the south and east by Turks and Mongols. This was bound to cause trouble of course, but the Islamic tradition proved powerful enough to convert the pagan conquerors; within 100 years, the Mongols were Muslims. Chaos and uncertainty of course occurred, but it proved transitory. A complete account of what life was actually like for Muslims of the time is contained in the Cross-Sections. You will read about the great age of Arabic love poetry, the brilliant accomplishments in architecture and science, the practical implications of the split between Sunni and Shiite. And most interestingly, for myself, the emergence of the Sufi mystical tradition, which had popular appeal among the commonality. A mystical, ecstatic tradition, it sought closeness with the unity of God through personal transcendent experience. The tradition combined aspects of older religions, Christianity, central Asian shamanism, Egyptian rituals, for example. Brotherhoods of Sufi dervishes were to become very important, particularly in the Ottoman Empire. The final section deals with the decline of the Middle East. Economic decline was accompanied by border conflicts for both the Ottomans and the Iranian Safavids, as both Russia and Europe began rising militarily and conquering strategic lands very valuable for their resources and/or access to international trading routes. The rise of nationalism, an import from Europe, proved unmanageable for the Ottoman Empire and disintegration of the peoples inevitably followed. The resources required for true industrialization were not in as great numbers as in Europe nor were they effectively utilized. Also, in companionship with the late Roman Empire, a qualitative decrease in the military ability of the Janissaries and reduced discipline led to a pattern of military defeat. The death knell, of course was WW1. Due to historical accidents, the Ottoman Empire became aligned with Germany. When Germany lost, so did the Ottoman Empire and Britain and France carved nations out of the fallen empire, and the struggle to adapt to that idea continues to this day. But, things are changing for the better. At the time of this writing there are many positive signals of democratic reform coming from Iran; more power to the Iranians. This book may be a bit dense, but it's very good. I have read several sections a couple of times.
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