The Closed Circle

This important book explains how Arabs are closed in a circle defined by tribal religious and cultural traditions. David Pryce-Jones examines the tribal forces which he believes drive the Arabs in their dealings with each other and with the West. In the postwar world he argues the Arabs reverted to age-old tribal and kinship structures a closed circle from which they have been unable to escape and in which violence is systemic. A healthy corrective a thought-provoking study.-David K. Shipler <I>New York Times Book Review</I>.