Recommended by J. Scott Carpenter:

Robin Wright whisks the reader from Morocco to Iran introducing the reader to the men and women engaged in the contest for the soul of the region, the dreams and shadows of her title. For a region associated with autocrats and suicide bombers, the reformers she introduces are like a breath of mountain air. Their dreams are our own. But like haze on a hot summer day, those dreams are threatened by men of dark vision such as Iran’s Ahmadinejad, Hamas’ Mishal and Hezbollah’s Nasrallah, all of whom Wright lets speak for themselves. She’s an optimist in the end, but be fair-warned, she is also partisan and ambiguous about U.S. power to shape the region (the chapter on Iraq is best avoided). Still, there’s more right than wrong here.

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Product Description

A magnificent reckoning with the extraordinary changes engulfing the Middle East, by one of our greatest reporters on the region.

Robin Wright first landed in the Middle East on October 6, 1973, the day the fourth Middle East war erupted. She has covered every country and most major crises in the region since then, through to the rise of al Qaeda and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. For all the drama of the past, however, the region's most decisive traumas are unfolding today as the Middle East struggles to deal with trends that have already reshaped the rest of the world. And for all the darkness, there is also hope. Some of the emerging trends give cause for greater optimism about the future of the Middle East than at any time since the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948.

Dreams and Shadows is an extraordinary tour de horizon of the new Middle East, with on-the-ground reportage of the ideas and movements driving change across the region-and the obstacles they confront. Through the powerful storytelling for which the author is famous, Dreams and Shadows ties together the players and events in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, the Gulf states, and the Palestinian territories into a coherent vision of what lies ahead.

A marvelous field report from the center of the storm, the book is animated by the characters whose stories give the region's transformation its human immediacy and urgency. It is also rich with the history that brought us to this point. It is a masterpiece of the reporter's art and a work of profound and enduring insight.

At the end, Wright offers perspective on the United States' most ambitious and costly foreign policy initiative since the rebuilding of Europe after World War II. The stakes are far greater than winning the war on terrorism, stabilizing Iraq, or achieving a lasting Arab-Israeli peace. Transforming the greater Middle East is the last great political challenge of the modern era. Yet the early burst of activity in a region long stagnant is already becoming one of the first grand surprises of the twenty-first century.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #226020 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Despite having lost several of her friends in the 1983 US Embassy bombing in Beirut, Wright (The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran) is guardedly optimistic for the Middle East's future: "a generation after the Beirut bombing, Islamic extremism is no longer the most important, interesting, or dynamic force in the Middle East." Her observations, of a "budding culture of change"-even, perhaps, a "renaissance"-are bolstered by platinum credentials; for more than 30 years, Wright has been covering the region for major American publications including The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly and Foreign Affairs. She illuminates her assessment with stories of the new "voices in the region" pushing for a more open, democratic society: activists, reformers, political leaders and ordinary citizens (like an Egyptian "middle-aged soccer mom" so outraged to learn of female government agents beating female demonstrators that she became an activist). Wright also tackles the big targets; though a staunch supporter of Israel, Wright sees the potential for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, in an effort to maintain democracy in Palestine, as a positive harbinger of change for the entire region. Further interviews, anecdotes, a crystalline sense of the area's multifarious history and a clear message-practical, progressive change requires "sorting out the past or at least trying to move beyond it"-make this a vital, compelling and surprisingly uplifting piece of reporting.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Wright has covered the Middle East since 1973. Highly acclaimed author of The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran (2000), she brings a long perspective to the current challenges faced by the U.S.—and the world—in the Middle East. Drawing on interviews with Palestinian and Lebanese militants, Egyptian and Moroccan activists, Syrian and Iranian reformers, Wright offers a broad perspective on the issues facing particular nations and the broader area. The interviews add an immediacy and sense of human urgency to conflicts in a region often rendered from great political and emotional distance. Wright examines the historic and current factors that add to the complexity, including unfulfilled promises of democracy, the rise of al-Qaeda, oil riches, globalization, and the Internet. She concludes with an analysis of how the U.S. invasion in Iraq has impacted the region as well as prospects for democratic government and cultural tolerance there. Readers interested in a broader perspective on conflict in the Middle East will appreciate Wright’s absorbing, insightful book. --Vanessa Bush

Review
“Few Middle East observers have a keener eye for the region than Wright, and she is a talented trend spotter. Two decades ago her Sacred Rage foreshadowed the appeal of militant Islam and the challenge it posed. With Dreams and Shadows she illuminates, in riveting fashion, the hopeful political personalities and developments in what many mistakenly see as the uninterrupted bleakness of the Middle East. Her insights—drawn from vast experience, a remarkable array of Middle Eastern contacts, and an unblinking sense of realism—are cause for cautious optimism.”
—Representative Tom Lantos, Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs

“Dreams and Shadows offers a panoramic perspective on the prospects of change in the Middle East. Wright brings to life an array of forces, voices, and ideas—both inspiring and troubling—in an engaging political travelogue. Readers will come away with a better understanding of the region’s rich past, a sense of its current stirrings, and a view into what may lie ahead.”
—Former National Security Adviser Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft

“A compelling account of a turbulent region whose future is inescapably bound to our own. Anyone who wants to understand the seismic forces at work would be well advised to read Dreams and Shadows.”
—Senator Joseph Biden, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

“Very rarely is our world so faithfully captured. The Middle East in recent decades has only become more complex. Wright’s insights and analyses are critical for any sensible understanding of what is happening. Her greatest contribution is to grasp the deep currents of hope, humanity, and dignity that anchor the often turbulent societies of the region. This book is essential reading.”
—Rami G. Khouri, syndicated columnist, Beirut’s Daily Star

“Written in the best style of a veteran traveler and expert, Dreams and Shadows tells the story of the world’s most volatile area, going through its most profound changes after decades of stagnation. Wright’s journey among reformers and reactionaries, clerics and democracy advocates is a necessary reference to anyone interested in understanding the Middle East’s undercurrents—and it taught me quite a lot about our neighborhood.”
—Aluf Benn, diplomatic editor of the Israeli daily Haaretz

“Insightful and passionate. Wright is well aware of the dilemmas facing the Middle East. But she also reminds us that we need not resort to military force and violence or resign ourselves to compromise with extremism and tyranny. Since tyranny and extremism as well as democracy and freedom are not defined by geographical, national, religious, or ethnic boundaries, hope lies in the aspirations of those (our true allies) in the region who against all odds are fighting for pluralism, openness, and human rights.”
—Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran

"Fascinating reading for anyone who likes true human drama. Only Wright could have written Dreams and Shadows because only Wright has traveled so widely, interviewed such diverse leaders, and brought so much wisdom to analyzing the region's many-sided puzzles. This volume, full of mesmerizing detail and large truths, sets a new standard for scholarship on the modern Middle East."
-Secretary Madeleine Albright

"Robin Wright brings her enormous knowledge of the Middle East, gained over years of reporting, to narrate how the region is undergoing enormous social change brought on by technology and globalization, and why, despite Iraq, democracy remains on the region's agenda."
-- Francis Fukuyama, Johns Hopkins University Professor of International Political Economy and author of America at the Crossroads

"In Dreams and Shadows, Robin Wright offers a compelling account of the political contours that are defining the modern Middle East. Drawing upon her decades of travel and reporting from the region, Wright reveals the undercurrents of the latest fundamental searching in Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon, as well as the labyrinthine politics of Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Iran, and others. With her impressive access to the region's political and opinion leaders, Wright brings us to the ideological battle lines of the new Middle East, including promising openings and awakenings too often followed by disappointment and repression. She describes autocrats, democrats, and theocrats skirmishing in increasingly unpredictable ways."
-- U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN), Republican Leader of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Dreams and Shadows is a lucid and comprehensive look at tumultuous events that have shaped the Middle East and will continue to chart its future. Relying on thirty five years of reporting Robin Wright provides a rich tapestry of information and insight that is enjoyable to read and will also go a long way in providing understanding of the Middle East and the challenges that it presents U.S. foreign policy."
--Vali Nasr, author of The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future

"This is the best of all possible worlds: An old hand guides us through the changes in post-9/11 Middle East, and is able to sort out in a sober, smart way what is really going on."
-Thomas E. Ricks, author of FIASCO: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

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Customer Reviews

A reporter of the best kind
For three decades Robin Wright has worked in the Middle East as the best kind of reporter -- a messenger who really listens to people and conveys their messages straight. In this book she draws on a vast network of people who trust her to convey the real experience of Middle Easterners struggling for a better future. She introduces numerous local heroes from Morocco to Iran, who have risked themselves standing up to despotic rulers. Where the West once supported conservative Muslim rulers against Communists, Wright finds that many of the strongest voices for fairness and liberty are socialists or communists. Where the West has backed Muslim autocrats against Islamists, she finds a new wave of popular movements for religious values have become the strongest challengers to autocracy. Wright honestly conveys the difficulties and courage of these activists. She also conveys their despair over the destructive role of US interventionism in the region. As Syrian dissident Yassin Haj Saleh puts it, "However opposed Syrians are to our own regime, they now distrust the Americans more".


I think this is the kind of direct dialogue with local leaders that we need most from our news professionals.

The Middle East, After 9-11
Ms. Wright has written a State of Disunion for the Arabic countries of the Middle East and North Africa, post 9-11. It is an optimistic report of gradual change against the Islamic fundamentalism (Hamas, Hezbollah) that already function as nation-states. The greatest obstacle to change are the entrenched military regimes and the Western interests. The two freely elected governments were Islamic fundamentalism in Algeria in 1992 and Hamas' victory in 2006. Neither election was recognized by the West. A hopeful sign is that the Internet is being used to connect reformers and spread information. Ms. Wright has written a long, interesting book that is full of insight into the world of the Middle East.

Good, not great
I had read Robin Wright's "The Last Great Revolution" about Iran and was excited to buy this book. However, I felt it was a bit too much of a chef's tour. Some of the anecdotes were interesting, even inspiring, but overall I felt the book was a bit too shallow. Wright recalls a few interviews here and there, but we don't get the depth of what we get in her prior book. It's one thing to use interviews and anecdotes in pursuit of a well-argued thesis, but another just to do so to give us a flavor of the Middle East. This makes much of the book a forgettable blur rather than a true learning experience.

Having said that, I thought her chapter on Iran in this book was by far the best. And if you do want a "chef's tour" or sampling of the Middle East, this book does do that well. I hope Wright expands her prior book on Iran and updates it, since she covers Iran very well.