This was a very interesting look into the history of the relationship between the United States and the Middle East. Having been born in 1988, and only being alive to experience a very small portion of that relationship, this book really taught me a lot about where that relationship had been, and how it got to the point it's at now.

Obviously, there's the rocky start in the Barbary Wars. But after that, the relationship between Americans and Arabs was friendly, in complete contrast to the stereotypes of today. Now, Americans and Arabs are perceived as bitter enemies, with a lot of anti-American feeling permeating the Middle East, and a lot of anti-Arab feeling in America. But prior to the creation of Israel, most Arabs actually had a very positive view of Americans.

American missionaries had established schools and hospitals throughout the Middle East, and those schools and hospitals generated a tremendous amount of goodwill, even though they utterly failed to bring in converts.

The most interesting story in the book, though, was the way that American institutions in the Middle East had set out to create an Arab form of nationalism. The Middle East was always very tribal, very family-oriented, with no identification as being a part of a larger people, except for Islam. Americans, in an effort to undermine the Ottomans, set out to create a nationalist movement that would push for independence for states like Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. And we succeeded. That very success led to all of the push-back from Arabs on the creation of Israel, and the ineffectiveness of Arab nationalists in defeating Israel led to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism/extremism.

قرات منه 158 صفحة وهو ملخص بسيط مترجم الى اللغة العربية عن مؤسسة كلمة .. صار عندي فضول ان اقرا الكتاب بالكامل باللغة الانكليزية بالمستقبل .. امريكا في بدايتها كانت في الشرق الاوسط ليس بقوتها العسكرية وانما ب المبشرين البروتستانت و ب مبعوثيها الدبلوماسيين . الكتاب يوضح ان المشجع والداعم الرئيسي لإعادة اليهود الى أرضهم الموعودة هي الولايات المتحدة الامريكية ..

I'm giving this three stars not because it's mediocre but because it was really hard to get through. Even though it's a huge book (28 hours of audio) it takes on a massive topic—America's involvement in the Middle East for the past 230 years (it was published in 2007). That means that by necessity it jumps very quickly from event to event and person to person, so I quickly lost track of who fit into which events. Still, the topic is an important one on which the author, Michael Oren, is a very credible expert, a widely-respected historian who was the Ambassador of Israel to the United States.

Despite having a tough time plowing through it, the title of Power, Faith, and Fantasy, is an apt description of the themes that underpin U.S. perceptions of and involvement in the Middle East. And I certainly have a better appreciation for the complicated history of U.S. involvement in the region.

The writing style is very cool.

The author, Michael Oren, is currently the Israeli Ambassador to the United States. Oren is also a historian, specialising in the history of the Middle East, especially Israel. Quite knowledgeable on the subject, this is not his first effort into Middle East history. His book, The Six Days War, is a seminal work on the conflict.



Oren takes us on a journey of the history of the relationship between the United States and the Middle East, beginning within a few years of the birth of the United States. The Barbary Pirates, ruling the Mediterranean Sea, helped give birth to the United States Navy, for example. Some people in our newly formed government grew tired of providing ransom and being exhorted by the pirates in order for our ships to have safe passage. Thus, our Navy was created to help bring an end to piracy and ransoms.



Missionaries, and a few entrepid explorers, scoured the Middle East, attempting to restore Christianity to the region, or looking for adventure. Tales of wonder, excitement, and mystery lined U.S newspapers, books, and later movies. The influence of these stories, from the likes of Mark Twain or T.H. Lawrence, would create a fantastical realm that would influence real politics, impressions, and create stereotypes from which world leaders would make decisions.



Oren spends much of the book discussing pre-Israel history; the rational being that the realm changed drastically in the years leading up to Israel Independence, and in the decades thereafter. He gives some treatment to those post-Independence days. Do not buy this book if you are stricly looking at a history or commentary on Israeli policy, or for anything other than a cursory survey of events since Independence.



The book does as described though, and provides insight into U.S. and Middle East relations up to about 1947. That the book does well, and is worth the price.

I read Oren's book 'Six Days of War' about the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, back in the days before Goodreads. Loved the book, and it explains much about the modern day Middle East. Granted Oren is a American born Israeli, but he I believe he presented the facts in an objective fashion.

This book is a presentation of America's involvement in the Middle East through the three areas mentioned in the title. First, political/diplomacy efforts. Second, through Christian mission, and Jewish resettlement. Third, through Americans fictional presentation of that part of the world through literature and film. It does start with 1776, and by present it means through the Presidency of George W. Bush and the our involvements post-9/11. Oren does a masterful job of research and interweaving these three approaches through this history of the Middle East. A great book for anyone interested in the basics of the Middle East and American involvement there.

Meticulously researched and holds up well, even in light of all that has happened in the region since this was published. My main complaint is that Oren is incredibly dry. This is packed with good information for a laymen interested in the Middle East, but I have to imagine it would be a slog to get through.

Still, this is a great overview of the relationship between the West and the Middle East and how that has impacted the history and politics of the region.

Michael Oren must be a horrible lay. I say this because only a horrible lay could take a subject as rife with passion and controversy as America's involvement in the Middle East and make it a mind-numbingly dull read.

Furthermore, while the book's subtitle is "America in the Middle East from 1776 to the Present", Oren only spends the last 20% of the book discussing the last 70 years of history (the period in which I was most interested), stating outright that he did so because there are many other books that cover the subject in detail. A bit more truth in advertising would have helped me adjust my expectations accordingly.

Despite this disappointment and the fact that I gave up on the book twice before finishing it, Oren does cover a lot of new historical ground here, and it substantially increased the context in which I form my own thoughts about the Middle East and America's actions there.

This book could have included more analysis.

Did you know that the failure of the states to protect American merchant vessels in the Middle East from kidnapping, hostage taking and murder was an important factor in the adoption of the US Constitution which provides the authority for the federal government to defend the country?

Did you know that George Bush, a noted professor at NYU in the early 1800's and a forbear of George HW and George W Bush was a leader in the early movement to return the Jews to Palestine?

Did you know that former Confederate Generals and other officers helped create the modern Egyptian army at the end of the 19th century?

Did you know that the Statue of Liberty was originally intended to be placed at the entrance to the Suez Canal and called "Egypt brings light to the Middle East'?

I didn't either, and there is a lot more interesting information about the long American involvment in the Middle East. The book is written in a lively narrative fashion.

The last chapter, focusing on modern history, was not as well done as the rest of the book or I would have given the book 5 stars instead of 4.

Amazingly well-researched, remarkably (to me) even-handed work from an author whose writings have sometimes stirred controversy. The section on the recent series of catastrophes was least successful, since they are overwhelming and (at the moment) seemingly irresoluble. The colonial history is well done, and there are great tidbits about John Steinbeck's missionary grandfather, Little Egypt at the Chicago World's Fair, Norman Schwarzkopf's father and John Foster Dulles, whom Churchill called "Dull. Duller. Dullest.'' The themes of Power, Faith and Fantasy are well explored, although the dips into images of pop culture are perhaps the least successfully developed. Oren explores the roots of the unresolved questions of Arab displacement and the clashing interests of the Great Powers. I learned much from this book.

Since my conversion to Islam more than a decade ago, I am wont to approach any book of this subject matter and scope with skepticism. While the author Michael B. Oren certainly has the credentials for this, he is also Israel's current ambassador to the United States.

The section of the book that deals with the nascent United States of the 18th century up to the influences of the then-major world powers in the first half of the 20th century seem unassailably objective. I honestly expected Mr. Oren to try to justify some of the events connected to the creation of the state of Israel, but he simply reports them. I was prepared to react with outrage to how the era from World War II to the dawning years of the 21st century was portrayed, but I found it balanced.

Given the ongoing strife in the region, its history is still being written.

I highly recommend this book for its readability and its scholarship. I plan to read Mr. Oren's The Six Day War and any future works of his.