Beyond the Storm: A Gulf Crisis Reader
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\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ The editors of this collection of 30 essays have assembled a distinguished cast of dissenting voices, from American democratic socialists like Barbara Ehrenreich to former Arab League ambassador to the U.N. Clovis Maksoud. Said's foreword, which is forthright and even-handed, notes that ignorance runs deep on both sides (the U.S. and the Arab world), and that nowhere in the Gulf region is there serious academic study of the U.S. Several other essays stand out. Bennis ( From Stones to Statehood: The Palestinian Uprising ) argues convincingly that the U.N. essentially served as a rubber stamp for U.S. policy. Israeli activist Stanley Cohen offers a particularly insightful and compassionate evaluation of the reaction of the Israeli peace movement to the war. Even more useful is Laura Flanders's thoughtful dissection of the role of the media, with a telling description of the abdication of responsibility by television journalists who allowed themselves to become cheerleaders for administration policy. A comprehensive chronology is included, as is the text of salient U.N. resolutions. Moushabeck is Middle East editor at Olive Branch. (Dec.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalThe ``War for Kuwait'' was over before most Americans could blink. In Beyond the Storm, 31 prominent authors argue why it was an unsettling conflict and offer countless reasons for looming uncertainties. The heart of the discourse here is the Arab world. For a majority of the writers, the politics of linkage between the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the Arab-Israeli conflict exist, and, no matter how often the proposition was dismissed as fantasy, the reality persuaded them otherwise. The authors conclude that the false analogies made in the press throughout the past year deserve systematic responses. In major essays, Edward Said, Noam Chomsky, Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, Yvonne Haddad, Clovis Maksoud, and Hanan Ashrawi, among others, provide these responses and highlight the perceptions of victimized Arabs. For those tired of the same fare, this collection is sure to provide food for thought. Essential for every public library because of its bold contents. --Joseph A. Kechichian, Rand\ \
