Michael B. Oren - Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present

Michael B. Oren's comprehensive history of the American presence in the Middle East begins shortly after the founding of the new nation, when American ships, having lost the protection of the British navy, faced the problem of pirates off the Barbary coast in the Mediterranean. Continuing from there up through the early 21st-century war in Iraq, Oren traces social, political, cultural, religious, and military encounters, including archeological expeditions, missionary work, travel, and the formal exchange of ambassadors and other representatives. He also traces the many ways the region inspired literary works by writers such as Washington Irving and Mark Twain, as well as other media, including the film LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. He shows how, in the 20th century, every American president had his own successes and failures in the region, including Cold War tensions between the two superpowers, the hostage crisis in Iraq under Jimmy Carter, the bombing of embassies and attacks on ships, and the enduring Arab-Israel