Rating: 
Summary: Packed with Knowledge!
Review: Margaret K. Nydell has recast this cross-cultural guide to getting along with Arabs in a new light in the midst of the war on terror. In so doing, she navigates sensitive territory, a no-man's land stuck between understanding another culture, and becoming an apologist for its negative behaviors. Properly executed, cross-cultural guides enhance one's awareness of the vast cultural gap between social norms and customs. Occasionally this volume lapses into cultural generalities, but that's inevitable when you're trying to explain norms of some 20 diverse Arab countries. Understanding Arabs will help you do just that, and although it may not shed a lot of light on the current conflict, it's very timely. We from getAbstract highly recommend it to anyone who wants a better understanding of Islam and Arabs. As Nydell says in her introduction, seeking understanding should not be confused with appeasement.
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow and lacking depth
Review: Since the September event I have spent much time to read in subjects of the Middle East, in an attempt to better understand the issues and people of that region. In that direction I took to the reading of "Understanding Arabs". The title of the book is very demeaning, as it suggests a highhanded approach in the subject. The connotation from the title makes it sound that the Arabs are a group of some animal species and the author is a silent observer writing on the social behavior of this species.The Arab culture at present is under going immense changes under pressure from within but more from external influence. The Saudi ambassador to the United States made the following observation.
"Foreign imports are nice as shining or high-tech things. But intangible social and political institutions imported from elsewhere can be deadly. Ask the Shah of Iran. A constant problem with so much of the west is the pressure need for short focused solutions and instant gratification, our pace is more for long distance running, for durability. We Saudis want to modernize, but not necessarily westernize. We respect your society even if we disagree on some matters". What I understood from the book is that Arab culture is complex but not unfathomable or totally exotic. The Arabs are demonstrative, emotional, subjective, hospitable and full of zest for life; while at the same time bound by stringent rules and expectation. Foreigners need not feel obliged to imitate Arabs to be accepted in their society, it is important to be non-judgmental and to avoid actions that are insulting and shocking. Arabs feel that the western society is too liberal. The Arabs have a great deal of pride and are easily hurt, they are sensitive to display of arrogance and to implied criticism. They also resent and disapprove of Western political policies in the Arab world. I felt this book was too generalized and void of depth in the subject. The examples given are not supported.
Rating:
Summary: Appreciating the Culture of Arabs
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: The Hopelessness of 'Hope' - A Study in Outdated Orientalism
Review: The title should have put me off the book. The review of a particular pseudo-academe should have warned me of the shallowness and ingrained 'cultural' single-vision of the author - but I went ahead and entered a feast of illiteracy and generalizations the like of which exists only in medieval travelogues. If one believes that an Arab barely makes it as a human being, this book is a gem. It eases the suggested pains' of encountering an Arab and the implied 'torment' of visiting an Arab country. On the other hand, if one considers the Arabs as a group of peoples with differing cultures, habits and customs, some of which do accord with Western (even Orientalist) perception of culture, other do not, then the book is offending, insensitive and is a caricature of an anthropological sketch.
Rating:
Summary: The Hopelessness of 'Hope' - A Study in Outdated Orientalism
Review: The title should have put me off the book. The review of a particular pseudo-academe should have warned me of the shallowness and ingrained `cultural' single-vision of the author - but I went ahead and entered a feast of illiteracy and generalizations the like of which exists only in medieval travelogues. If one believes that an Arab barely makes it as a human being, this book is a gem. It eases the suggested pains' of encountering an Arab and the implied `torment' of visiting an Arab country. On the other hand, if one considers the Arabs as a group of peoples with differing cultures, habits and customs, some of which do accord with Western (even Orientalist) perception of culture, other do not, then the book is offending, insensitive and is a caricature of an anthropological sketch.
Rating: 
Summary: Good on Arabic customs, poor on geopolitics
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Good on Arabic customs, poor on geopolitics
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad
Review: This work has refreshingly few stereotypes. Its one greatest mistake is the statement that Arab children are taught not to do things wrong because it is shameful rather than objectively "wrong." This is an absured statement to make about an Islam-based society. Still, it is a better cutlural guide than TV and movies with their terrorist-bellydancer-billionaire stereotypes.
Rating:
Summary: It Changed My Life.
Review: When first learned to fall in love with the Arab people through reading this book. As I delved into Islamic and Arabic culture studies, I came across Understanding Arabs, and was fascinated by what I found. A culture that put the group over the individual, that valued honor so highly, that had no word or concept for privacy (not as it is defined in American culture) . . . The more I read, the more God put them on my heart, and the more my heart became one with the Arab people, for here I found a culture so like my own. Over the years, in further reading and further experience, I've learned a lot more beyond Nydell's terse etic generalization of Arabic culture, but most of what she shares is accurate, and limited enough to be a very easy read, while making you pant for more. She writes with a Semitic style, sharing stories which illuminates the people far more than dry text. Come and read this book, and see for yourself the beginnings of a love affair with the Arab people.
Rating: 
Summary: Penetrating the Arab cultural world
Review: When UNDERSTANDING ARABS was first published in l987, Westerners knew very
little about the complex world of Arab culture, where everything seems so unpredictable, but where in fact the deep culture remains remarkably constant
In this new edition, Dr. Nydell has given particular attention to the larger framework of Arab culture and to each of the nineteen Arab countries, carefully updating and annotating trends and events. This includes sixty new citations, chronicling the tremendous changes that have taken place in the last decade. Dr. Nydell is particularly attentive to the rising tide of fundamentalism that has swept Muslim countries; she comments on the great impact it has had in the Arab World, from women's dress to education to increased wariness of the West and criticism of Western values and behavior.
UNDERSTANDING ARABS provides a cross-cultural guide for foreigners who are living in an Arab country, who encounter Arabs frequently in the Arab World or in the West, or who are interested in Arab culture and sensibilities.
In early chapters Dr. Nydell examines the Arab personality in a cultural context that is comprehensible to foreigners yet not stereotypical. She looks at friendship patterns, attitudes toward strangers, hospitality, differences in ways of thinking, the value placed upon the expression of emotion, and relationships between men and women. Later chapters address broad societal structures including social classes, the family, religion, language and communication.
The Midwest Book Review says, "UNDERSTANDING ARABS is a rich source...[and] a perfect introduction into contemporary Arab-Western relations for both students of American Middle-East policies and the general reader with an interest in understanding the background to today's national headlines and issues."
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