Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present - Essay Example

assignment is due Power, faith, and fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the present isan excellent overview of the involvement of United States in the Middle East, right from the Barbary wars to the present issues in Iraq. Michael B. Orens, the Israeli historian has done a wonderful exploration of the typical mix of power, faith and fantasy that has steered the policies of United States. This remarkable work of Oren gives a paradigmatically distinct perspective of the history. It gives the comprehensive story that started with the founding of America in 1776 to the present day. One third of the book gives the summary of the post-Second World War era. In Power, Faith, and Fantasy, the author throws light on America’s preoccupation with the Middle East and explains how far the United States was involved in the past 230 years. Even though the history of US involvement with the Middle East can be approached in different ways, the author decided to make a parallel view of the past actions and the present behavior of the United States. Being a historian, Professor Oren is of the belief that in order to make any comments about the future, it is crucial for us to know the ‘here and now’ that he explains by exploring the historical importance of ‘there and then’. As the title of the book says, the author makes use of the ideas like power, faith and fantasy to draw an outline that explains the way US involvement in the Middle East is inclined to follow a specific pattern. These themes give the perspective through which it is expected that American people can get a better understanding of the scenario that currently exists in this world. Consequently, power is considered as the pursuit of interests of the United States economically and diplomatically. The next major theme of the book is faith. This refers to the great impact of religion in the formation of US policies and attitudes towards the Middle East. Missionaries belonging to various denominations encouraged American involvement and established several novel concepts on topics like education, human rights, healthcare and social equality. The third major theme presented is the inspirational effect of fantasy. It explains the way our views influenced the understanding regarding Middle East. It also helped us understand the government policies regarding the issue. This understanding was developed through the exploits of the fictional characters and the real heroes of the issue. Power, Faith, and Fantasy is a fantastic account that helps readers increase their understanding of the Middle East. Power, faith, and fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the present is much more than a comprehensive analysis of US interference in the Middle East. It is a persuasively told story that helps readers understand the truth. The narrative of Oren is brisk, inspiring and original. Author generously supplies wonderful insights, interesting observations, and good anecdotes that make readers focus well on the topic. Power, Faith, and Fantasy is a rare work as not many literature is made on the stories of Middle East. Even though there are few books that deal with Middle East, none of them give a comprehensive history of America’s long term role in the Middle East. The book also wonderfully deals with the controversial topic of America’s role in the Middle East. The book is rich with astonishing discoveries and unusual information. This magisterial work of Oren has successfully recovered the pivotal past in this crucial topic. Power, Faith, and Fantasy has innumerable merits. First of all, it focuses on US experience along the crucial themes of faith, power and fantasy. These three factors are blend well at different places and time. We find it first in North Africa, progressing to the entire region including Iran. Next, Power, Faith, and Fantasy present political, diplomatic, cultural and historical backgrounds to unearth American relations in the area. While dealing with this topic, the book explains the interplay of American foreign and domestic policies and the major roles played by military, communal, religious and congressional leaders and other adventurers and explorers. It also explains the role played by different US presidents in the affair. The policy rations and perspectives of other major players of Middle East like France, Germany, and Britain are also given due importance in each and every chapter of the book. Power, Faith, and Fantasy is wonderfully crafted and well written. It is organized and wonderfully set. The book is not giving crude information on the topic. It is rather explaining history like a story. The book starts with a chronology of crucial dates and events related to the topic. Dates from 1776 to 2003 attack on Iraq are covered. Each chapter contains a brief introduction and a persuasive analysis of issues related to current and past actions and policies. It further contains a good summary of major events, conflicts, issues dilemmas and actions. Responses by different players and future trends are also included. This chronology of events helps readers follow the story properly. This fantastic collection of information and dates makes Power, Faith, and Fantasy special. Apart from that, the work of Oren is well documented, though written in the form of a story. Chapters go like a story, taking readers to suspense often. This style of writing makes the account very much interesting for the readers. Though this is complex historical account, it is not dry and disinteresting. The author’s special style of story-telling made this history book a fascinating account. As in his previous work the author of Power, Faith, and Fantasy has done a great job in surveying all the available documents and documenting this valuable history text. The 672-page history account is on the bestseller list because of the wonderful way the author has prepared this text. Oren opined that he prepared the book as very few historical documents are available for the present day readers. Oren’s work has helped readers understand the A to Z of US interference in Middle East affairs. Power, faith, and fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the present gives a balanced, rich, amusing and insightful understanding of the topic better than many other works on the topic. Majority of the Americans are of the belief that American involvement in the Middle East started with the discovery of oil resources in Saudi Arabia in 1933 and grew later along the post-Second World War affairs of Arab-Israeli issues and Arab nationalism. The book is, no doubt, is an indispensable historical account of the American affairs in the Middle East. Oren has done a wonderful job in supplying readers with a useful text that speaks of a crucial topic. The book is recommended not only to history researchers, students and teachers, but also to common people who are interested in the affairs of Middle East. Post-World II era has been wonderfully covered in the book. This extensively researched book is filled with useful facts that had never been unearthed before. Information provided in the book is original and unbiased. This comprehensive and fascinating account has helped people understand the truths behind the US involvement in the United States. Given the present troubles in America-Middle East relations, public and policy makers will be highly benefited by the work of Oren. Knowing the history of the affairs would help them judge things in a better way. Power, faith, and fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the present is therefore very much relevant for today. Read More