from lketchersid

Michael Oren's POWER, FAITH and FANTASY is an immensely researched (80 pages of notes and a 50 page bibliography) and cohesively written accound of American impact in the middle east from the beginnings of America until the present. The background research and anecdotes provide a firm footing for...

from nbmars

This is a tremendously entertaining and well-written history of America's relations with the Middle East from the beginning of our country to the present day. Oren organizes his study around three motifs: power (the pursuit of American interests); faith (the impact of religions on attitudes and p...

from robrod1

Oren makes History enjoyable.

from nmele

I read this book to learn about the history of U.S. involvement in the Middle East. I did, thanks to Oren's research, narrative style and clear thesis, that the realities of power, the strength of religious forces in America and the fantasies of the area exposed by Edward Said are the key influen...

from chrisqhj

Very interesting and timely - especially the older material, pre-20th century. Washington's and Jefferson's writings on the Barbary States prove the old verse "there is nothing new under the sun."