What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response Audiobook

" The title is misleading and i told Mr lewis that when I met him at a conference in 2006. He concede the point and said the publishers came up with the title because they thought it would sell better. "

" Pace the preening epigones of Edward Said, Lewis makes some interesting points about the historical and cultural factors that have contributed to political pathology in the Middle East. Too bad he does this in soporific and wandering prose. Save this for one of your manic phases. "

" A must read- those who think the answer is nothing.... there are no words.... "

" This book is mostly a condensation of the themes found in Lewis' larger work History of the Middle East. It focuses mostly on the time period of the Ottoman Empire to the present day, and it has significantly less historical detail. To any interested in the history of the region, I would recommend the larger work instead. A condensation of a "brief history of the last 2000 years" (as he calls his History of the Middle East) is so brief as not to be worth the time invested in reading it. "

" Read for research. Good intro into the topic. "

" interesting analysis of the consolidation of geopower among european states and the decline of functional autonomous societies in the middle east. not a very diverse perspective though. i thought the title was meant to be mildly sarcastic, or at least that what was "wrong" was colonization, but it turns out that he seems to think of the "isolationism" of the arabic world as being wrong. doesn't really address the relevant cultural histories behind a resistance to modernization as it is defined by the western world. "

" not as good as crisis of Islam "

" It was much drier and more repetitive than I thought it would be...but in the end, Bernard Lewis makes his case with alacrity. Even music is used as powerful backing for Lewis' thesis. This should be required reading for any student of contemporary & Middle Eastern studies. "

" I was hoping from the title that this book would clearly spell out "what went wrong," but alas, the book intends for you to figure that out from the historical background provided. I guess I was hoping for some more clarity. "

" Excellent scholarship. Difficult read. It is worth the time and effort. "

" I hope Lewis is not "the West's greatest. . .interpreter of the Near East" since he apparently believes that what went wrong with the Arabs is essentially what you might call poor protoplasm. Not unbiased historical interpretation. "

" Will report later when done. "

" I had high hopes for this book. It should have been this crazy comprehensive book, highlighting all of these aspects you'd never though of (like a Jared Diamond book). I learned a few things, but the book was short, unambitious, and not that enlightening "

" very insightful look at the roots of the world's real culture war "

" I read this about three years ago and am re-reading it now. It gives a good background for understanding the background for what is currently going on in Afghanistan and the middle east. "

" Interesting to read- but Lewis tends to ramble "

" "Extremely approachable history of the Islamic world and it "

" The introduction is horribly written and makes you want to put down the book - but don't! It is great but you have to dedicate yourself to reading it (not a metro read). Reading in larger chunks makes it more understandable. "

" Very interesting but it didn't quite answer the question for me. It seemed like there should have been something more. "

" I wish the author included more dates. It was hard to determine what happened when. "

" More information on the whole clash between islam and the west. Very informative. "

" this is no great scholarship--my opinion of this book has declined quite a bit since I first read it "

" Bernard Lewis is the master Middle-Eastern historian alive today ... This book demonstrates that distinction. "

" This is a great read if you want to learn at least a little bit about the world of Islam. (I admit I knew next to nothing.) I skimmed the first section on military affairs (not my area of interest) and focused on the social/cultural/economic (and of course religious) issues. "

" This book doesn't actually describe the reasons things went wrong, but rather describes the symptoms. In describing the problems and attempted solutions it is a reasonably good book. "

" Worth reading to provide context to modern problems. Focus especially on the conclusion. Also provides good coverage of the basic elements of Islam. "

" not as good as crisis of Islam "

" While I can agree with the basic principles, I think he leans a bit too much on Islam, and not enough on the kingdoms, sheikdoms, and empires that history used as their excuse for poor performance. "

" Excellent primer on the Middle East, written by the undisputed expert on the Arab (and Persian) world. "

" I thought this was going to be very boring but insightful. I was wrong on the first and right on the second. This is a short read (or listen as I did) and very interesting. "

" Seemed okay. I just can't finish nonfiction... "

" This gave me a lot of insight into a culture I understood little of. A good primer for people wanting to understand Islam and the Middle East better. "

" Read this book in 2004. Can't recall much - Another one to re-read. "