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Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry That Unravelled the Middle East by Kim Ghattas
honeybee5's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Outstanding book. Love the perspective. The book is written from an insider perspective, from a Middle East, Iran, Saudi Arabia view. It's refreshing to to read this rather than a western or American perspective.
eabhawall's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.0
This was informative, but incredibly dense. I struggled to keep track of key players and names. Maybe audiobook not the best format for this
jay_catsby's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
dkatreads's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 A well told history of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry, the rise of religious nationalism, and the ripple effects of Sunni/Shia sectarianism over the last 50 years or so.
Though it was clearly well researched, it didn’t feel like a history textbook. It was engaging, story-driven, and articulate. There were far too many names to keep track of, but Ghattis does a great job of keeping the threads together.
I found this book to be of great importance for its ability to unpack some of the racist stereotypes of the modern Middle East. You read that in fact, religious fanaticism, sectarianism, and despotism aren’t natural features of the land or natural dispositions of Arabs/Middle Easterners as many would presume. In fact, the realities of the region we know today are more an aberration of history than anything, that in fact they weren’t inevitable. Pluralism, tolerance, co-existence all existed and were part of the many cultures of the region long before the export of Wahhabism and Khomeini’s “waliyat al-Faqih.”
I think that’s what was most important about this book to me. It spoke of the possibility that a different Middle East could have come to fruition, and if that’s true, then a different Middle East is still possible today. One that returns back to its roots, free of violent ideologies and despotic rulers that strangle their people.
It was a tragic read. To follow the slow death of pluralism across much (though not all mind you) of the region. But it gave me hope too.
Though it was clearly well researched, it didn’t feel like a history textbook. It was engaging, story-driven, and articulate. There were far too many names to keep track of, but Ghattis does a great job of keeping the threads together.
I found this book to be of great importance for its ability to unpack some of the racist stereotypes of the modern Middle East. You read that in fact, religious fanaticism, sectarianism, and despotism aren’t natural features of the land or natural dispositions of Arabs/Middle Easterners as many would presume. In fact, the realities of the region we know today are more an aberration of history than anything, that in fact they weren’t inevitable. Pluralism, tolerance, co-existence all existed and were part of the many cultures of the region long before the export of Wahhabism and Khomeini’s “waliyat al-Faqih.”
I think that’s what was most important about this book to me. It spoke of the possibility that a different Middle East could have come to fruition, and if that’s true, then a different Middle East is still possible today. One that returns back to its roots, free of violent ideologies and despotic rulers that strangle their people.
It was a tragic read. To follow the slow death of pluralism across much (though not all mind you) of the region. But it gave me hope too.
bootless_bandit's review against another edition
4.0
Very much appreciated the perspective that this book gave into the history and deeply complex international politics of the Middle East. Certainly much more than the headlines that I see scrolling through my newsfeed.