 |
GetTextbooks.co.uk
Compare Prices & Save up to 90% |
|
|
|
| Login | Sign up | Settings | My Wish List |
 | | The Arab Mind by Raphael Patai, Norvell B. De Atkine (Foreword) ISBN-10: 9781578262458 ISBN-10: 1-57826-245-3 ISBN-13: 9781578262458 ISBN-13: 978-1-57826-245-8 Paperback 2007-08-28 Red Brick Press Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description ONE OF THE GREAT LANDMARKS OF CULTURAL STUDIES First published in 1973, revised in 1983, and now updated with new demographic information about the Arab world, The Arab Mind takes readers on a journey through the societies and peoples of a complex and volatile region. This sensitive study explores the historical origins of Arab nationalism, the distinctive rhetorical style of Arabic speakers and its effect on politics, traditional attitudes toward child-rearing practices, the status of women, the beauty of Arabic literature, and much more. MORE RELEVANT NOW THAN EVER Since September 11, the book’s lessons have been misconstrued by some but have proven indispensable to those trying to truly understand the roots of the major political conflicts of our time. Patai’s sympathetic but critical depiction of Arab culture explores the continuing role of the Bedouin values of honor and courage in modern Arab culture, inter-Arab conflict and the aspiration toward unity, and how anti-Western attitudes conflated with anti-modernization have led to stagnation in much of the Arab world. DRAWS ON A LIFETIME OF EXPERTISE Patai, a prominent anthropologist and historian, drew on both his research and his personal experience to produce this indispensable work in the field of Middle Eastern studies. With an updated foreword by Norvell B. DeAtkine, former director of Middle East Studies at the JFK Special Warfare School, The Arab Mind remains a relevant and crucial masterpiece of scholarship for anyone seeking to understand this multifaceted culture today. | ||
Reviews | ||
The Arab Mind A surprisingly comprehensive explanation, with documentation and examples, of what the author has learned about Arab thinking and culture over a lifetime of study. Clearly presented, and quite readable. However, I suggest following up with another author of comparable stature, for comparison. Patai's views, while having an apparent objectivity (including quotations from prominent Arabs) present a culture that an American mind finds distasteful in its harshness and ethics. The Arab Mind is a valuable book, but it would be valuable to determine if it is biased or objective. | ||
Gaping holes in research filled by author's imagination This book is so poorly researched that it cannot be considered academically useful. It is also clearly out-of-touch with the reality of Arab culture, appealing to popular prejudice and sensationalism more than cited sources, let alone interviews with real Arabs about the conclusions drawn. When the author does cite sources, which he often does, his own psychoanalysis weighs much more heavily on the conclusions he draws than any researched factoid that he happens to mention. For example, he makes a big deal out of an obscure reference which suggests that Arabs fondle the genitals of their male babies. Though the source refers to a particular region, he says that we can safely assume that it is practiced everywhere. He then goes on to describe how this practice is responsible for all the misogyny and sexual repression in Arab society. In reality, parents in many cultures fondle their babies' genitals, and see nothing wrong with it, although it is frowned upon in American culture. It clearly does not have the same effects in these other cultures that Patai would have us believe it has on Arabs. This is just one example, though, of citing a source, expanding it to include the whole Arab world, and then drawing far-reaching conclusions based on the author's version of Freudian psychoanalysis. This kind of thing occurs repeatedly in this book. The book is very unkind to Arabs, and is written in a way that attempts to mask gross sensationalism under a veneer of intellectual inquiry. It serves to confirm deep-seated prejudices that Westerners have against Arabs, and Muslims in general. The book is like the Da Vinci Code, in that it is presented as well-researched, and contains enough semblance of truth to overcome the reader's initial suspicion, but then continues to present pure fantasy under the guise of fact. The only difference is that Dan Brown admits that the Da Vinci Code is fiction. I do not think anybody should read this book. It does not provide useful information, and it is grossly misleading. It will be most enjoyed by those prejudiced against Arabs, because it will confirm their most vicious biases, and by those who like to read academic-sounding things about sex. This book has tremendous potential to severely damage constructive relations between the West and both Arabs and Islam. | ||
CAUTION FOR OUR MILITARY: research book before reading Get some outside scholarly opinions before considering this book. A simple Wikipedia search will suffice (be sure to read the entry's references). The book's popularity and revival mostly comes from neoconservatives and, in turn, the Pentagon's use of the book as a basis for understanding the Arab culture and, subsequently, creating interrogation/torture techniques to be used on Arabs. From other scholars' views, this book seems by no means to be a work of which to base notions upon the Arab culture. "The book is described as simplistic, reductionist, stereotyping, generic, essentialist, outdated, superseded, flawed, unscientific and even intellectually dishonest by other scholars." It saddens me that this book is given to our men and women in the armed forces. We can do better, and so can you: do the research. | ||
The Jewish Mind You've got to be kidding: an East European Jewish writer opining about the Arab Mind and Americans. I feel the urge to write a tome about the Chinese mind as it applies to South Koreans. | ||
A Must Read I have lived in the Middle East, on and off, for four years, and no book explained the Arab mind as well as Raphael Patai's. Written over 30 years ago, it still rings true in so many aspects, and definitely helps explain the cultural clashes that still occur and slow down the process of coexisting. Raphael Patai's love of Arabia and all things Arabic is very obvious throughout his work. Even so, Patai managed to be objective and to portray the good and the bad in Arab culture. Too many authors take one road or the other, allowing personal feelings and thoughts to encroach on the necessary objectivity. Patai, like a true sociologist, presents how a culture was formed, in language easily understandable to the Western mind. Sometimes dry and drawn out, "The Arab Mind" should nonetheless be mandatory reading for all government workers in the Middle East, as it is truly an indispensible guide through a culture that has been around longer than our own. | ||