''Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present'', a history of American involvement in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Michael Oren Michael Bornstein Oren (Hebrew: מיכאל אורן; born Michael Scott Bornstein; May 20, 1955) is an American-born Israeli historian, author, politician, former ambassador to the United States (2009–2013), former member of the Knesset for ...

, was published by W.W. Norton & Co. in 2007 and quickly became a New York Times bestseller. The ''Power'' in the title refers to the United States' military, diplomatic and financial strength to pursue its interests in the Middle East. ''Faith'', in the words of Oren, refers to "impact of religion in the shaping of American attitudes and policies toward the Middle East." And ''fantasy'' refers to the image Americans themselves shaped of the Middle East. The

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

version is performed by Norman Dietz.Publishers Weekly Review
, Publishers Weekly, July 30, 2007

Thesis

In Oren's narrative, the present resembles the past. The new American republic was immediately forced to formulate a Middle East policy, and the issues were not very different from the issues America faces in the Middle East today. Halkin, Hillel.
Power, Faith, and Fantasy by Michael B. Oren
." ''

Commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

'', January 2007. In Oren's own words: '' " ontemporaryAmerican policy- makers, it will be shown, wrestled with many of the same challenges in the area faced by their . . . predecessors and similarly strove to reconcile their strategic and ideological interests. Mythic images of the Middle East, meanwhile, remained a mainstay of American popular culture. . . . The objective f this final sectionis to enable Americans to read about the fighting in Iraq and hear the echoes of the Barbary wars and Operation Torch he code name for the American landing in North Africa in World War IIor to follow presidential efforts to mediate between Palestinians and Israelis and see the shadows of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson."''

Hillel Halkin Hillel Halkin ( he, הלל הלקין; born 1939) is an American-born Israeli translator, biographer, literary critic, and novelist, who has lived in Israel since 1970. Biography Hillel Halkin was born in New York City two months before the outbr ...

, writing in ''

'', finds one aspect of this thesis compelling. He argues, with Oren, that the role of

idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected t ...

in American foreign policy may be unique. ''"America alone (or so it can be claimed), in addition to pursuing, sometimes ruthlessly, its national interests like any other country, has frequently acted with the best interests of others in mind. One can compile a long list of major American foreign-policy decisions, by no means all of them regarding the Middle East—entering World War I, the Marshall Plan, intervening in Bosnia and Kosovo, etc.—that arguably had, alongside their purely pragmatic calculations, a genuine element of idealism, without which it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to obtain support for them from the American public. More than the citizens of other democracies, Americans really do expect their governments to be a force for good in the world."''

References

{{reflist

External links

Presentation by Oren on ''Power, Faith, and Fantasy'', January 15, 2007
C-SPAN
Presentation by Oren on ''Power, Faith, and Fantasy'', September 29, 2007
C-SPAN 2007 non-fiction books 21st-century history books Books about foreign relations of the United States History books about the Middle East History books about the United States