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Best of Enemies: A History of US and Middle East Relations, Part One: 1783-1953 by Jean-Pierre Filiu
kamckim's review
3.0
This is a very interesting and informative book. The books uses a story from the ancient Gilgamesh text to set the themes of faith and war for the rest of the stories to come. Both threads run throughout the history of US and ME relations, as far as Filiu sees it. The second chapter, PIRACY, looks at imperial clashes between the US and Barbary pirates from roughly the mid-1700s to mid-1800s. It was interesting to find out about the roles of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli during Ottoman rule. I had no idea that Americans had sought diplomatic relations in the Middle East for so long. "Shores of Tripoli" makes more sense now. With the advent of Westward Expansion, the US seemed to care less about the Middle East, but only after having built a successful US Navy as a result. The next chapter OIL explains early US ties to Saudi Arabia and the reasons for US interests in supporting Al Saud. I was a little bit disappointed with this chapter because it skips over some important information about the Arab Revolt of the time and completely skirts around Palestinian/Zionist issues by simply mentioning Balfour and Sykes-Picoult, blaming it more on the British and French. The last chapter, Coup d'etat was about American efforts against Russia in Iran during the Cold War. There is a lot of evil deception, corruption, spying and all kinds of pay-offs going on. The US was totally involved. Wow! I highly recommend, even with its omissions in places.
bryanzk's review
5.0
How to tell a story, rather a complex of stories, about Middle East and U.S.? You should read this book.
livrad's review
4.0
3.5 stars
This was really informative, even as it blitzed through history of U.S./Middle East relations dating from 1783-1953. It was especially interesting to see a more pulled back view of the Barbary Wars. I thought this was the best done portion of the book and could have been an entire volume itself. Had the book just covered up to the formal establishment of a relationship between the U.S. and the Ottoman Empire in 1862, it would have been much stronger. It would make the series longer, but the following history in the book then jumps around a lot, drops several names without much expansion on them, and makes odd choices on what to prioritize. The history between 1945 and 1953 and the transition from colonial economic control to U.S. oversight is a real whirlwind, without the same careful consideration given to the opening of the book. Still, it was a fascinating look at how much foreign interests have plagued the Middle East for centuries and how keeping areas of the Middle East in turmoil has repeatedly benefitted nations from outside the region. I look forward to reading the next volume.
This was really informative, even as it blitzed through history of U.S./Middle East relations dating from 1783-1953. It was especially interesting to see a more pulled back view of the Barbary Wars. I thought this was the best done portion of the book and could have been an entire volume itself. Had the book just covered up to the formal establishment of a relationship between the U.S. and the Ottoman Empire in 1862, it would have been much stronger. It would make the series longer, but the following history in the book then jumps around a lot, drops several names without much expansion on them, and makes odd choices on what to prioritize. The history between 1945 and 1953 and the transition from colonial economic control to U.S. oversight is a real whirlwind, without the same careful consideration given to the opening of the book. Still, it was a fascinating look at how much foreign interests have plagued the Middle East for centuries and how keeping areas of the Middle East in turmoil has repeatedly benefitted nations from outside the region. I look forward to reading the next volume.
nickdouglas's review
4.0
Felt like a good primer with a smart, fair POV. Now I want to read a full prose book on the subject.
bwreads's review
2.0
This was disappointing. I was hoping that it would be a brief but concise history in graphic novel form that would give me an overview of the history of US and Middle East Relations. Well, maybe the holes in my knowledge are too huge, but it seemed like a very patchy collection of sound bytes and name dropping that left me confused and bored. I think the author and illustrator would have been better served to break this up into more books, and add more detail.
At first I was looking all the names up in Wikipedia to get a background on them so that maybe the story would make sense, but then that was taking forever and I thought, "Really, why don't you just get some books that give you more of the picture?" So I found some titles at the library that may or may not be exactly what I want, and stopped looking stuff up in favor of just plowing on through.
The artwork was great, and reminds me of a fabulous local artist here in Oklahoma, Eric Humphries, although to tell you the truth I like Eric Humphries's art better. You can judge for yourself, though. http://www.paintedatrocities.com/index.html He hasn't done any graphic novels or histories that I know of, but I think he should.
Meanwhile, I'm going to be doing a little more research of the US and Middle East relations, because it is still a very foggy subject to me.
At first I was looking all the names up in Wikipedia to get a background on them so that maybe the story would make sense, but then that was taking forever and I thought, "Really, why don't you just get some books that give you more of the picture?" So I found some titles at the library that may or may not be exactly what I want, and stopped looking stuff up in favor of just plowing on through.
The artwork was great, and reminds me of a fabulous local artist here in Oklahoma, Eric Humphries, although to tell you the truth I like Eric Humphries's art better. You can judge for yourself, though. http://www.paintedatrocities.com/index.html He hasn't done any graphic novels or histories that I know of, but I think he should.
Meanwhile, I'm going to be doing a little more research of the US and Middle East relations, because it is still a very foggy subject to me.
chelseamartinez's review
4.0
I don't know if Part Two is already published but I look forward to reading it; that being said, this ~200 year history is the part I knew nothing about, from Middle East interactions between early America (as a nation) and post-WWII alliances over oil that led to Saudi Arabia's place of privilege today.
lettemeread's review
2.0
Pictures were great, story was easy to follow, just not what I was envisioning before I read it.