Category Archives: Books

Review of Sohrab Ahmari’s “Arab Spring Dreams: Freedom and Justice from North Africa to Iran”

Posted on July 9, 2012 by iPouya

Preparing for my preliminary exams required a year of reading. After completing the exams on April 18, I pledged to continue tackling books at a steady pace. One book I recently read, Arab Spring Dreams: Freedom and Justice from North … Continue reading →

Posted in Arab Spring, Books | 6 Comments

Khalidi’s “Palestinian Identity”

Posted on June 4, 2011 by iPouya

I just finished reading Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi’s seminal book Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness (Columbia Univ. Press, 1997) and I thought I’d share a paragraph that I found very concise: “Ironically, it is Israel, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Palestine | Leave a comment

Charles Kurzman “The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran”

Posted on April 27, 2008 by iPouya

I just finished reading Charles Kurzman’s The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran. It is much like Stephen Kinzer’s All the Shah’s Men in that the entire book focuses on the unfolding of a major historical event. Kurzman’s book is devoted to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Iranian Revolution | 5 Comments

Vali Nasr on the Colbert Report

Posted on April 25, 2008 by iPouya

The good thing about going to school in the New England area is that in addition to our home school’s schedule of classes, we’re also allowed to take classes at Tufts University and MIT, both of which are very close … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 2 Comments

Imam Musa as-Sadr on Shariati

Posted on February 14, 2008 by iPouya

In his eulogy to Dr. Ali Shariati, Imam Musa as-Sadr said: Men living through difficult times which fail to meet their aspirations split off into four categories. There are those who submit, become ‘pillars of society,’ become like the large … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Iran, Islamism, Shariati | 16 Comments

Annapolis

Posted on December 1, 2007 by iPouya

So rejectionists like Benyamin Netanyahu and his right wing cheerleading bloggers have decided that the new conference is just another forum where Israel will offer one-sided concessions only to have them rejected by the warmongering Palestinians; that Israel offered the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Palestine, The Conflict | 9 Comments

Excerpt

Posted on October 21, 2007 by iPouya

A personal account from Sara Roy’s Failing Peace: Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: “One story that my aunt Frania has always insisted on telling me took place when she and my mother were in the Auschowitz concentration camp: ‘Where I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Palestine | 11 Comments

Recent Read…

Posted on October 19, 2007 by iPouya

I’ve been reading relevant chapters of Sara Roy’s Failing Peace: Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict and I’m convinced it’s one of the best books out there on the conflict. Dr. Roy is a Jew herself whose parents are Holocaust survivors … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Palestine, The Conflict | 4 Comments

Recent read…

Posted on October 9, 2007 by iPouya

I recently finished reading a solid book by NYU’s Zachary Lockman titled Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism and I wanted to share a couple excerpts with you: “… the ancient Greeks did of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 12 Comments

Recent reads…

Posted on October 6, 2007 by iPouya

I just got done reading Juan Cole’s Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East, and I thought it was very interesting that Napoleon invaded Egypt under the premise that he was going to liberate Egypt from the tyranny of the Ottoman … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Islamism, Palestine, The Conflict | 1 Comment