L' infelicità araba

I first read this short but powerful evaluation of the Arab world in the 21st century in the summer of 2010 and have assigned it for my Middle Eastern history courses ever since. Kassir, a journalist and historian of Palestinian extraction who lived in Lebanon until his assassination in 2005, urges

I realized I share a lot of Kassirs thoughts and hopes after reading this book. It's a short, but sweeping read about what it means to be Arab in the 21st Century, what it meant before and hopefully what it'll mean in the near future. I highly recommend it, it's one flights worth of reading time, so Leggi tutto

Short, passionate, captivating, and straight to the point, offering a new and very interesting perspective on the topic. I highly recommend this book. I feel this book is even more relevant today than when it was written in 2005. I just wish Samir Kassir was able to have lived through the last decad Leggi tutto

Waste of paper, ink, my time and money. Fisk's intro is just as lazy as the book itself. A book filled with generalizations, over simplifications and the word malaise in every other sentence. (How about some synonyms!) Its insane how he thinks he can describe the situation in every Arab country in 2 Leggi tutto

Interesting insights and valid arguments backed by highlights of history, sociology, religion and culture. I was recommended this book by a Syrian friend of mine and I am really happy I read it. I am sure I will read it again in the future. It's a shame that Kassir was murdered in 2005; he had so mu Leggi tutto

This book is answering so many questions about the Arab state of mind for me--the feeling of ennui, the the intolerance, the inferiority complex. Kassir manages to address all of these things in this little book.

I wish Samir Kassir had lived to see the wretchedness of Arabs melt away, even if for a very short period, when the Arab Spring exploded in the very streets he described in this book which was written in 2005 assuming no hope existing and none to come. Alas, Kassir was assassinated by a car bomb in B Leggi tutto

A very profound essay on what the author calls the 'Arab malaise', ie the sense across the Arab world that Arabs are not able to determine their own history. The author, who was assassinated by the Syrian secret police for his role in the March 14th coalition - a coalition that mobilised the Lebanes Leggi tutto

Un libro-manifesto, un grido di libertà e democrazia con la forza di un testamento e la forza visionaria di un inizio. "Bisogna essersi trovati per una volta con le proprie inquietudini di fronte alle certezze dell'Altro, le sue certezze su di te, per avere la misura di quanto ha di paralizzante uno Leggi tutto