Beyond America's Grasp: A Century of Failed Diplomacy in the Middle East

Middle East expert Stephen P. Cohen traces U.S. policy in the region from the breakup of the Ottoman Empire to the present. A century ago there emerged two dominant views regarding the uses of Americas power: Woodrow Wilson urged America to promote national freedom and self-determination―in stark contrast to his predecessor Theodore Roosevelt who had advocated a vigorous foreign policy based on national self-interest. In concise pointed chapters Cohen offers a lucid primer on the complexities of the region and an eye-opening commentary on how different Middle East Countries have struggled to define themselves in the face of Americas stated idealism and its actual realpolitik.