Book Reviews : The Mideast in Focus. By NORMAN GREENWALD. (Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, 1960. Pp. x, 86. $2.50.)

• Date: 01 September 1961
• Published date: 01 September 1961
• Author: H. Paul Castleberry
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296101400328
• Subject Matter: Articles

788

tions

from

the

time

of

the

birth

of

this

nation

to

the

present

day.

It

asserts

the

steadfastness

of

the

bond

between

the

Americans

and

the

French.

If

there

are

flaws

in

Franco-American

relations,

it is

the

Americans

rather

than

the

French

who

are

to

blame.

Disinterest

and

false

stereotypes

of

the

French

nation,

as

well

as

mistakes

of

American

foreign

policy,

are

cited.

French

friendship

and

support

during

the

Revolutionary

and

post-Revolu-

tionary

periods

is

gratefully

acknowledged.

France’s

imprint

on

American

cul-

ture

and

keen

perception

and

understanding

of

American

ways

is

fully

credited.

France

is

also

given

credit

for

the

defense

of

American

national

interests

in

spite

of

the

shortsightedness

of

American

policies,

sometimes

oblivious

to

these

inter-

ests.

Thus,

for

example,

during

World

War

I

&dquo;the

vital

interests

of

the

United

States

were

being

upheld by

France,

by

Frenchmen

in

taxis.&dquo;

In

post-World

War

II

relations,

lack

of

United

States

support

of

French

military

efforts

in

Indochina

is

decried

and

the

abandonment

of

France

during

the

Suez

crisis

in

1956

is

regarded

as

a

tragic

mistake.

In

both

instances

France

is

seen

as

right;

the

Americans

as

blundering;

the

traditional

bond

between

the

two

countries

endangered;

and

the

struggle

of

the

Western

world

in

the

cold

war

adversely

affected.

Gotshal

also

has

warm

words

for

the

French

role

in

the

French

Union.

On

one

point

he

is

especially

emphatic:

if

a

choice

is

to

be

made

between

support-

ing

France

(and

perhaps

any

other

European

power)

against

dependent

peoples

in

rebellion,

the

answer

is

patently

obvious:

&dquo;In

these

times

anti-Western

re-

bellion

becomes

sooner

or

later

pro-Soviet

absorption.&dquo;

In

this

vein

Gotshal

argues

for

an

unwavering

Franco-American

alliance

and

support

for

the

French.

His

admiration

of

France

and

the

assertion

of

deep

ties

of

friendship

between

the

French

and

the

Americans

bolsters

his

argument.

Indeed,

this

book

is

remarkable

for

its

very

positive

attitude

toward

France

and

its

appeal

for

a

continuation

of

an

historical

friendship

between

the

French

and

American

peoples.

San

Diego

State

College

IVO

K.

FEIERABEND

The

Mideast

in

Focus.

By

NORMAN

GREENWALD.

(Washington,

D.C.:

Public

Affairs

Press,

1960.

Pp.

x,

86.

$2.50.)

The

purpose

of

this

short

monograph

is

&dquo;to

fill

the

need

for

a

general

but

concise

introduction

to

the

sociology,

history

and

politics

of

the

modern

middle

east.&dquo;

This

need,

unfortunately,

is

as

acute

today

as

it

was

before the

publication

of

Mr.

Greenwald’s

manuscript.

The

Mideast

in

Focus

was

prepared

without

benefit

of

a

systematic

analyti-

cal

framework.

It

explores

no

hypotheses

and

offers

few

useful

conclusions.

There

is

no

index,

no

bibliography,

no

documentation,

and

no

evidence

that

the

author

used

even

one

primary

source

of

information.

The

work

suffers

from

careless

proofreading,

and

one

is

frequently

confronted

with

offenses

against

elementary

rules

of

style.

The

Weizmann

Institute

is

said

to

be

&dquo;world-