Rating: 
Summary: I still don't know what went wrong?
Review: 160 pages of dates and details written before 9/11 of very little value regarding 9/11 or Islam. It might better be titled: how to make money from 9/11. Apparently an enterprising literary agent thought it would be a good idea to get a well regarded Princeton historian on the Middle East to pull together some Middle East History 101 notes thick enough to pass as a book, title it so as to imply that the reader will get critical conceptual insights about 9/11, Osama Bin Laden, and/or Islam, and then rush it to press while interest was still high. What you really get is: Columbus discovered America in 1492 etc etc. There is a less than exhaustive 6 page post 9/11 conclusion where the reader makes a last desperate attempt to seek some redemption for all his time and money by praying to finally learn something important about "what went wrong" or "what should be done" but all he gets is that Islam did not modernize and now the choice is theirs: to modernize or not. I'd stick to the NBC nightly news for about the same conceptual depth.
Rating: 
Summary: Death of a civilization
Review: In a news clip covering the Iraq crisis; I read a statement by President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak; which is a sad but true statement of the realities of the Islamic world. The president said; "The Muslim nations will be fooling themselves if they believe that Iraq war can be averted by their efforts. The power to wage war and the power to peace lies in the west". It is this dismal state of events that transcribe the middle east; at some period in history the Islamic civilization were a threat to the existence of Europe. At present the same region is shadowed by the will of the west. I have sensed that there appears a great urgency in the moderate intellect of the region to put forth a study to understand "What went wrong and why they are in a state of despondency". Bernard Lewis observes that the initial wave of modernizers in the early 19th century focused on military, economic and political. It was a sham modernity; as it resulted in defeats on all fronts; they area from these developments got humiliating military defeat; corrupt economy and tyrannical rule. The same state of events persist till today; they deprived development by giving lucrative contracts to foreigners instead of instilling the passion for learning in their own regions. The countries in the region can wrongfully lay blame to western imperialism; the consequences of World Wars; Turks blaming the stagnation of their civilization to the Arabs; and Arabs blaming their deprivation from the Turk rule. The question arises do these arguments have weight; the answer NO. These arguments provide a lazy means to avoid self blame; we at present are witnessing the rapid growth of Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Israel, Japan, China; these regions were occupied just like the Islamic lands were during colonism. Blame Islam?. There have been many arguments put forth that Islam is the cause of the decline; if this was so then during the Middle Ages; the major centers of civilization, progress and discoveries emerged from this region. Bernard Lewis brings forth an interesting question; "What have the Muslims done to Islam?. It is apparent that in the Muslim nations there is ample evidence of lack of freedom in speech, in liberty, in pursuit of thought, in expression of ideas. Any breach from the norms is stated as an enemy of Islam; an infidel. To support my case I refer to Abdus Salam nominated for the Nobel Peace prize in physics; was denied representation by the Government of Pakistan on account of his being a Qadiani (sect of Islam regarded as heretics by the government). I would highly suggest anyone trying to answer the Question "What went wrong" read this book
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Summary: Thieves will rarely rise above their "heritage"
Review: What went wrong? Bernard Lewis tracks the core reason for their failures to Islam. Consider the fact that Islam is built on rewarding its followers with loot of holy wars, thus perpetuating the qualities of hate, thievery and perpetual civil wars. Lewis is absolutely right when, after studying these people for decades, he tracks their failures to the foundation of their cultire.... Thus, one can track the failures of arabs and others to their ancestory and traditions. Anyone who studies the history of arabs, turks and other conquering nomadic people can conclude that the initial cultural successes were simple spoils of wars. Great Bysantium gave muslims their architecture (for example, golden dome mosque in Jerusalem were built by christian from freshly conquered Bysantium land). Arabs took their history from Judaism (Abraham as their ancestor, etc.). Turks stole Greek land, pieces of culture, while commiting genocide (Greeks and Armenians). With such inheritance its probably very hard to adapt to modern, open, technically savvy world.
Rating: 
Summary: A Frustrating Read
Review: As I read this book, and even after I finished it, I was frustrated and annoyed. For 150 pages of this 160 page book Bernard Lewis presents reprints of writings and speeches he has made in the past, which speak tediously of the "gap" in advancement between the West and the Arab World in the areas of political systems, social practices, economy, science, technology, and even music. Most of it is in excessive boring detail, with an evident nostalgia for the Islamic-Civilization-that-once-was by this apparent Islamophile. Much of the text focuses on the Ottoman/Turkish Empire and its history, as if this represents the mainstream of Arab history and culture, which it doesn't.
My mind kept begging for some answer to why..., why did these so called "gaps" develop over several centuries, and continue to widen even now? Frustratingly and most annoyingly, Lewis gives no answers until the last 9-page Conclusion, the only chapter actually written originally for this book. (This, in itself, makes this book a ...) Worse, although he offers several extant "theories," he has the ultimate intellectual cowardice of not taking any position of his own as to which of these he - as a supposed Middle East expert - he believes is the reason(s) for What Went Wrong. One would have reasonably expected for their [$] retail that he would offer his own theory. Sadly, Lewis takes our money and runs.
With a little research at a good college library, you or I could have written a better book on this subject, and I'm sure provided more of an answer to its central, important question!
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Summary: And this is the West's Greatest "Interpreter" of Islam?
Review: Better start looking a little harder as we're in a lot of trouble. It was bad enough attempting to read this book wading through poor grammar and writing style, but then the worst part is Lewis' attitude itself. He is so condescending to Arabs and Muslims that he loses all authority over his subject matter. Lewis is a classic white Orientalist, in that he exoticizes and infantilizes the "brown" people he is purporting to study. It is a chore to read a book by someone who holds in contempt the people he is writing about. Reading this book will give a reader with no background in the Middle East a truly warped perspective. The book is wonderful for massaging the racism of its white target audience, but contributes little in depth or substance to the study of Arabs and Muslims. Perhaps this is why Lewis is given such a big platform to speak from; the powers that be do not want us to see the big picture. That should make us think...
Rating:
Summary: Middle East in a nutshell
Review: This extremely informative and timely book was written before September 11, 2001, but its contents can give Westerners some fleeting glimpse at the mindset and attitudes of people of the Middle East. Using history, culture, science and medicine, the author gives a brief overview of the Middle East, and how and why coditions there are what they are, after many centuries of superiority. It's a typical scenario of the rise of a civilization that is more advanced in many ways than its neighbors, only to slowly, over time, succumb to pressures and events which reduce it to a position somewhat inferior to those it had before considered not on an equal plane with it. There is the usual search for answers to the question of "why" this decline and fall happened, with the scapegoating and blaming scattering in many directions. This is not an anti-Middle East book by any means, although those in the region concerned may feel that to be so. I found it a well-rounded and measured approach to a sensitive situation, and a book that should be read by anyone concnerned with the type of world in which we live today. You may not agree with all of it, or even with any of it, but it should be read.
Rating: 
Summary: It's just the beginning...believe me!
Review: This is a great little book for someone who is not familiar with the Muslim world and looking for a little background. It's a great starting point, but it is only the beginning in understanding what did...and is...wrong with the Muslim world today. As a longtime resident of the Middle-East, I've always been amazed at the near complete lack of initiative and drive in the Arab world. Who among us in this part of the world hasn't heard "Inshallah" (God willing) in response to an instruction or question? Many of us laugh and shake our heads when we hear it daily, but miss the true tragedy. That is, that many in these barren lands honestly believe that everything is pre-determined, that no matter what they do as individuals or a people God has already determined their fate...so why bother? One only has to travel to Saudi Arabia (have fun!) to see the complete arrogance of an entire people, based on absolutely nothing. Not a single contribution to mankind, not an invention, piece of literature younger than 1,000 years old, medicine ... nothing. The best of everything that money can buy...from somewhere else. This book is a great starting point for the novice in learning more about a failed culture, indeed, a failed people. The hatred and anger the world is witnessing today from groups like al-Qaida is a direct manifistation of a collective realization in the Islamic world that ... they've blown it. Blaming everything on the West is poor cover indeed. How can one of the least densly populated portions of the earth ride on a sea of oil and not have a thing to show for it other than expensive cars and flashy buildings that are built by others? I respect Lewis for pointing out the historical failures, very brave. However, I look forward to a continuation of his analysis in a future book which includes the political impact of the 20th century and the decline of Islamic leadership throughout the region.
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Summary: Unanswered questions
Review: Bernard Lewis in The Clash Between Islam and Modernity, poses the ever important question "What Went Wrong?". However it appears that he is utterly unable, if not completely incapable of answering it. Mr. Lewis in this book, seems to meander endlessly and without much focus thru what may be termed at best, anecdotal episodes of the encounters of an already declining 'muslim' empire with an Industrial Revolutionary Europe. There is no organisation of the disparate and unconnected thoughts that pepper the book, and indeed there are instances of repetition: page 140 "The first turkish printing press, which flourished in Istanbul in the first half of the 18th century, printed in all 17 books, of which a fair number were books on history." leeds to page 142: "Between 1729 when it was established, and 1742, when it was closed, (the) first Turkish printing press issued 17 books, most of them dealing with history, geography , and language." (note: the comma before 'and ' is sic.) Furthermore, there are instances of grammar bad enough that a word processor program could have spotted them as well as plain old spelling honkers, page 149: 'Latterly there has been some interest in pop music and rock music.' Interestingly, Professor Lewis gets nitpicky about vocabulary by claiming that a certain term for 'secular' used by the French is (one must suspect) a better way to express his meaning in "Secularism and the Civil Society" than its English equivalent (Chapter 5, page 96). He goes on to claim that the word 'laicisme' (the more correct word is 'laique') which he mispells (there is an umlaut on the i) is more true to his meaning and in fact is used as is in several languages, "...,but not as yet in English." Then surprisingly, he proceeds to use the words 'lay' (page 98) and 'laity' (page 100), which of course are directly derived from 'laique'. If obscure grammar, muddled thoughts and bad spelling weren't bad enough, the true failing of this essay lies in its unfulfilled promise of providing clarity to a topic that indeed urgently needs it. The book fails to properly classify events by chronolgy and their historical context, for example failing completely to examine the effect the Mongol invasion and subsequent 300 year rule had on Persia. Professor Lewis fails to examine the very warrior nature of Mohamed himself, his decimation of the populations of Mecca and Medina and invasion of Arabia in the 7th century. And what about the role of Fatima, marrying her cousin to perpetrate the reign of the descendants of Mohammed? What about the decadence of the middle empire of the '1000 and 1 Nights', the drug cultivation and use, the 'assassins' of the mountain? Indeed, this pressing topic deserves a mucher broader scope of inquiry and clarity of mind than Professor Lewis can seem to muster. That Princeton University would consider Professor Lewis to be 'Emeritus', is both puzzling and of great concern, in that one would suspect such academic leaders to exhibit a modicum of intellectual rigor.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on the Middle east for a beginner
Review: I confess I've only read five books or so on the Islamic situation, but this one had a sweep that was so incredible, so amusing, and so authoritative that I would recommend it to anyone. I have mostly been afraid of the Islamic people after Sept. 11 -- and even broke a tooth in a dream one night while imagining fighting Bin Laden in hand to hand combat (he was winning). This book calmed me down considerably and made me like the Islamic people somewhat and see their charm, and the hope that Lewis sees in them I saw, too. All they have to do is become democratic, and liberal, and set up some better co-educational universities. Lewis argues that this is within the realm of possibility. The book gave me hope, and better than that -- understanding. I'm so grateful to Bernard Lewis!
Rating:
Summary: Rambling
Review: The author obviously knows his subject well, however, most of the book does not really address the question raised. For the most part the book is a history of the culture and political developments of Islamic peoples. For 90% of the book he discusses literature, music, political institutions and military campaigns. The failure of Islam to enter modernity is the same failure that has afflicted other nations and empires: failure to separate church and state, failure to develop capitalism, and failure to nurture democracy. These are the same shortcomings that have brought down or stunted the growth of other nations and empires. Turkey has shown us that a nation that is 99% Moslem can also achieve modernity.
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