Commentary
Due to injuries sustained in a bus accident, war correspondent Neil MacFarquhar had to surrender his preference for death-defying assignments and take on a task no other reporter wanted. He was sent to cover peace in the Middle East, in the numerous Arab communities which were virtually untouched by war, and thus escaped the world's attention. MacFarquhar, who grew up in Libya and is fluent in Arabic, was perfectly suited for the task, and his intriguing report confirms that a vast number of people in the Middle East have no connection to fatwas, jihads, or militant Islam. Like everyone else on the planet, they lead quiet lives dedicated to providing their children with opportunities they themselves did not have access to. MacFarquhar's primary goal is to determine why the region continues to lag in technology and innovation despite the constant flow of money for petroleum. In his extensive travels in the region, he encountered oil magnates, opium farmers, religious zealots, and "mukhabarat" (secret police), but his interactions with them separates the individuals from the stereotypes, and shows that there are far more similarities than differences between an average Arab and an average American.

Reviews
"MacFarquhar's fascinating book is a welcome change....[from the] disheartening topics [that] dominate the media's coverage of the Middle East....Americans might not like what they learn...but this perspective is necessary for understanding whether our country's tremendous involvement in the region will succeed and how we might do better."

Daniel Byman

"Neil MacFarquhar...[has written] an intelligent and fascinating romp full of anecdotes, acid asides and conversations with everyone from dissidents to diplomats and liberal religious sheikhs....His real achievement is to give the reader a window into the private debates among the intelligentsia and political classes of the Middle East."

Wendell Steavenson

"Throughout the book Mr. MacFarquhar displays an impressive grasp of history, particularly in his chapters on fatwas...and the concept of jihad....Few in the West pay attention to these arguments within Islam--or to the daily tribulations of homegrown reformers--and that is the ultimate strength of this book. Mr. MacFarquhar has provided a sobering and heartbreaking record of these quiet struggles."

Mohamad Bazzi

"...[A] funny (yet penetrating) account about real Arabs...struggling against long odds to bring their societies into the modern age....For those who care about the Middle East and want to start listening to weak but growing voices calling for reform and modernization on local rather than Western terms, Macfarquhar's account is a fine place to begin."

Thanassis Cambanis