This book is an informative look at current middle east Arab thought from a somewhat unconventional pro-Israel viewpoint, which deserves to be read, but should be supplemented. Friedman is a thoughtful and creative thinker as evidenced by his book The World is Flat. In Longitudes he reprints his newspaper columns from around 9-11 to the time the US invaded Iraq, which at times is repetitive, but gives a good account of his thought development at the time. His main thesis is that Arab anger toward the US stems from bad leaders, bad governments, and not primarily from Israel. His line of reasoning therefore encouraged the nation building policies that led our country into the Iraq debacle. He sees the Palestinian issue as a poor excuse for violence, and 9-11. He blames Arafat for the breakdown in peace talks, though the offer he was given was not at all fair. He implies that Arafat did not work toward peace which is in line with neo conservative thinking. Though he has been criticized by neo conservatives for calling for an end the West Bank settlements, his views still fail to take into consideration the level of importance of the Palestinian issue to Arabs and the gross injustice the Palestinian peoples have through the years have endured at the hands of the Israelis, and their primary benefactor and arms supplier the US. His view doesn't adequately explain the cheering Palestinians on 9-11. He thinks that all the Arabs need to do is form democratic governments, recognize Israel. But Israel continues its repressive policies toward Palestinians. The solution to the Palestinian problem is going to require more than democracy. Note that Israel bombed the civilian population democratic country of Lebanon with cluster bombs in 2006 with full US support. Read this book, but also read The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by Mearsheimer and Walt which outlines the degree to which the Israel lobby and US neo conservative policy has supported Israel's aggression. Then you will understand the problem.

I've read every book that Thomas Friedman has written, and they are all exceptional. Friedman seems to meet everybody significant regarding the subject at hand, and has listened with an open mind. He thinks outside the box, and the proposed solutions he comes up make a lot of sense. His reporting is extremely well-balanced and done with great heart. His documentaries on TV are of equal caliber.

I only wish Tom Friedman worked in our government, however, maybe he would then be less influential than as a writer.....I find I agree with 90% of what he says.....Brillant....

I normally don't read non-fiction books about world affairs, maybe because I suspect the author has a hidden agenda, and after reading this book I still feel the same way. I have heard Thomas Friedman a few times on NPR being interviewed by Terry Gross and found what he has to say captivating. Once finding myself staying in my car 20 minutes extra to listen to the end of the conversation. As for this review; I might enjoy his later books more, this one was written in 2001 - 2002 and felt a lot like backtracking in the past. Still interesting enough to recommend.

Any thoughtful person will be outraged by at least a few of these essays. I cannot tell which ones those will be--because, dear reader, I do not know your politics. I do know that when it comes to the Middle East, everyone seems to have an opinion and as Thomas Friedman in this book challenges virtually all of the commonly-held ones (on the left and the right alike) it is quite likely that you, like me, will mutter over some essay "You utter idiot." But I hope you won't put the book down.

For Thomas Friedman (unlike so many) has the courage to gaze into the heart of darkness in the Middle East that made 9/11, the Islamists' war against the West, and their war against the Jews possible. And Thomas Friedman reports what he sees.

He tells us that our Arab partners do not present "an alternative positive view of America [in their countries]--even though they were sending their kids here to be educated." He tells us that "the terrorists can exploit the Interned.. but in their suffocated world.. they could never invent it." He tells us that "these terrorists aren't out for a new kind of coexistence with us. They are out for our nonexistence." He tells about how a friendship with an Arab Muslim intellectual disappeared when the intellectual questioned him about how Jews run the world and he tells us how frustrated the Jordanians are that the intifada and not the remarkable Jordanian reforms are dominating Jordanian news.

In short, Thomas Freidman refuses to conform to facile "truths" of today; he refuses to look away. You may, at times find him frustrating and angry; you may get angry with him. But you will not find him substituting fashionable ideology for what he sees. For that reason, I recommend his book.