BLOG APPROACHING THE MENA REGION: BOOK REVIEWS, ANALYSIS AND MORE
Abbas Amanat is an authority in the field of Iranian historiography. A Professor at Yale University, his published work is as extensive as his experience, having been the editor-in-chief of the Iranian Studies journal. Amanat’s latest book, “Iran: A Modern History”, will certainly contribute to cement his already outstanding reputation. The 900-page long book will Continue Reading
“Making the Arab World” is a superb dual biography of two of the key figures of twentieth-century Egyptian history, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Sayyid Qutb. At the same time, however, the book written by Fawaz A. Gerges is much more than this. In his work, the Lebanese-American scholar recounts the evolution of Egypt before Nasser Continue Reading
Exactly forty years ago, on March 14, 1979, the American feminist Kate Millet and her partner, the Canadian journalist Sophie Keir, did not know yet that they were about to be deported from Iran. They would be aware of this the following day, when the deputy prime minister of the Iranian interim government, Abbas Amir-Entezam, Continue Reading
Around 20 km away from Tunis, a US flag at the top of a mast can be seen driven with the wind, which is a frequent visitor in this part of Tunisia. The flag does not belong to the US embassy compound, though the diplomatic mission is to be found nearby. In this case, the Continue Reading
“Workers and Thieves” is the most recent book by Joel Beinin. At the same time, it is an attempt (mostly successful) to explain the specific experiences of Tunisia and Egypt within the context of the so-called “Arab Spring” in an innovative way. Beinin makes a twofold contribution to the vast literature dealing with this historical Continue Reading