Product Description

A thousand years ago, a vast Arab empire stretched from the Asian steppe across the Mediterranean to Spain, pioneering new technologies, sciences, art and culture. Arab traders and Arab currencies dominated the global economy the way Western multinationals and the dollar do today. A thousand years later, Arab states are in decay. Official corruption and ineptitude have eroded state authority and created a vacuum that militant Islam - with its schools, hospitals and other civil services - has rushed to fill. In "Dreaming of Damascus", Stephen Glain distils his experience as the "Wall Street Journal's" Middle East correspondent into a poignant and intimate account of how the Arab world - once the spearhead of what we call globalization - may collapse in the absence of badly needed reform. Glain takes us on a journey through the heart of what were once the great Islamic caliphates, the countries now known as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt, to illustrate how a once-prosperous and enlightened civilization finds itself at a crossroad between Dark Age and New Dawn. As late as the 1900s, what we call the Levant was a prosperous trading bloc. By carving the region into proxy states and emirates after the World War I, the Western powers Balkanized and undermined the Levantine economy. That in turn prepared the ground for a regional autocracy that rejected economic openness and religious tolerance, qualities that had made the old Islamic caliphates great. Today the Arab world has opted out of the global economy, with tragic consequences. It is up to the new generation of leaders - and the Western governments that created the modern Middle East - to reverse the sclerosis and revive the region.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1776534 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
'Steve Glain has written a wonderful book about the Middle East, beautifully written and well reported, which fills in a very important gap in our understanding of the volatile region.' -- Peter Bergen -- author of the bestselling HOLY WAR 'Ground-breaking ! There are a few books and/or literature around on Middle-Eastern economics at a macro level but nothing at the grass roots level of which Stephen Glain writes and so reader friendly ! I also very much enjoyed the humour which is rare in literature about the region. ! It should be required reading, Really good stuff.' -- Norvell B. DeAtkine -- retired Army colonel and dir 'Combining his skills as a reporter and economist, Stephen Glain's timely book, Dreaming of Damascus, provides keen insights and contributes to a much-needed deeper understanding of the complex challenges and constraints facing the Arab world ! His masterly narrative, moving from country to country, peopled with an extraordinary cast drawn from all ranks of society, takes a close look at the interplay between economic transformation and political change ! Lucid and well written for the experienced as well as the novice, the book should be read by everyone who wants to understand the fundamentals needed to help the region progress ! Fascinating to read, crammed not only with factual information, but also insight into what motives the people, Stephen Glain's book should have a very beneficial impact at a decisive point in the region's history.' -- Joe Saba, The World Bank 'Insightful ... a valuable guide' -- Observer 20030420 'Brilliant, timely account' -- Eastern Daily Press 20040221 'I can't think of a more poignant or timely book to see us through this self inflicted purgatory or post war trauma. Blair and Bush should be forced to consume this enlightened, truthful and imperative insight into the state of the Middle East. The author understands the vagaries and subtleties of interarctions and transactions and explains them in humourous and unmincing detail ... Seminal and essential reading. This year's must read' -- Indobrit Magazine 20030530

Eastern Daily Press
'Brilliant, timely account'

About the Author
Stephen J. Glain joined the Wall Street Journal in 1991 and covered the Far East from Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. From 1998 to 2001 he was the Journal's Middle East correspondent, based in Amman, Jordan. He is currently the journalist-in-residence at the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC.

Customer Reviews

Middle-East Mentor
Anyone looking at the problems in the middle-east will not get far before noticing some economic anomalies in the area. This book takes a look at the region, including Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Egypt, from a supposed economic viewpoint to evaluate these troubled times - what it produces is far more than that because of the story-telling.

This book offers a powerful overview into the mentality and history of the area courtesy of one foreign journalist and a host of (native) small businessmen, bankers and local leaders. I got a real idea that I was hearing the 'man on the street' telling it how it was. This was no propaganda, but some real journalism. It amused me how unpartisan the author could be, while letting fly in the conclusion about his true feelings. This means that a reader from any political leaning or any degree of uncertainty can read the book without annoyance - a rarity in this genre. The only criticism that I'd have is that he sees lots of problems and offers very few solutions (but then that's the difference between a journalist and a good politician).

A True Gem In A Cluttered Genre
In the age of perceived American hegemony, perhaps more so since Sept 11, being an American voice of reason appears no easy task. Which is all the more reason why Stephen Glain's travelogue through the Middle East is deserving of the highest praise. Even though he may not provide solutions to the myriad dilemmas confronting the region, in many respects it is what he leaves unwritten that brings many of the answers readily to mind. Dreaming Of Damascus mightn't conjour up the same romantic representation of the Middle East as Beyond The Pyramids, Arabia Through The Looking Glass or Cleopatra's Wedding Present, yet its subtle blend of scholarly education and erudite discription delivers a powerfully evocative macro exposure to a region so vast in its complexity, that this is a gem in a subject category cluttered with misinformation.