The Foreigner's Gift

Fouad Ajami, authority on Middle Eastern politics, offers a portrait of the ongoing struggle for Iraq and of the American encounter with that volatile Arab land. Ajami situates the current unrest within the context of Iraq's recent history of dictatorship and its rich, diverse cultural heritage. He applies his political commentary, his deep historical view, his mastery of the Arabic language and Arabic sources, and his prose to every aspect of his subject, wresting a coherent and textured picture from the media storm of fragmented information.