Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times
byMargaret K. Nydell
141 total ratings, 49 with reviews
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C. Derick Varn
4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful if basic introductionReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 28 March 2016
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Professor Nydell does a good job introducing arabic culture to the Americans and Western Europeans, although sometimes she does give more rosy an impression than I have personally experienced after as tolerance goes. This should be taken as well-intentioned counter-balance to a lot of conflation of Arab culture to Islam and a oversimplification of Islam itself. Professor Nydell does, however, often have to be caveats about the nature of Saudi Arabian culture and society in the book where a more austere form of Sunni Islam and a very conservative monarchy play to the most conservative elements in Arab society.
Living in Egypt myself, I found this book most helpful when discussing possible points of miscommunication and mutual misunderstanding of relationships. While Professor Nydell does not talk about honor or shame cultures--to be fair, these cultural archetypes are a bit too broad to be useful--the focus on public and private will be hard for many Anglo-North Americans and Western Europeans to completely understand. Dr. Nydell does not go into how this will be perceived by "Westerner," as it is often see as irrational and nepotistic, and indeed, it often is the latter. That said, understanding the intensity that both social bonds and hospitality play in Arab culture--Christian and Muslim--is vital to understanding some anti-Americanism and mutual miscommunication.
By and large, which a few overly positive generalizations aside, my experience of the slice of the Arab world which I currently live is aided by this book. Although the country profiles in the final chapters due help with breaking some kind traits down, the political information is already out of date only two or three years after the fact due the current breakneck speed of change in the Arab world. Furthermore, the chapters on Islam and Islamism are too basic to be helpful to those who know anything about the subject but probably won't help those who are negatively oriented towards learning about it.
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Isabeau
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent explanation of Arab Values and BehaviorsReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 15 December 2017
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I teach a course in Intercultural Communication and am always on the lookout for books that I can use in class. I especially look for books that focus on specific cultures since most of my students have not travelled in the U.S., much less abroad. Nydell's book does an excellent job of explaining Arab culture from an Arab perspective. Her first edition was very much focused on western (particularly American) business men who would be traveling to, or working in, the Middle East. She has broadened that out a bit and included updated content in each edition. Her goals include helping westerners understand Arab values and behaviors as well as helping westerners understand the logic of the values and behaviors. The information is written for a general audience, contains specific examples throughout, is easy to understand, and covers key topics. For someone who teaches a course on cultural values, it provides concrete examples for the theories we cover in class - but is equally valuable to someone who just wants to increase their understanding of Arab cultures. Note: before I travelled to the Middle East, I had 3 Arabs from different countries read the book to give me their opinion of the content. Each found it to be excellent. Later when I travelled to the Middle East, I found the information quite useful and accurate. I offer the highest recommendation possible for this book.
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Meera
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Understanding Arabic CultureReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 25 July 2015
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I needed this for a class and I have to say this book is GREAT. It explains the culture of the Middle East very well. The book is written clearly and is simple to read. The book keeps your interest. The author goes into great detail and touches on things like the role of women,manors, Islam, proverbs, a brief history of the Arab world, Arab body language, she explains a little of the Arabic language and my favorite part is at the end she gives a background of each Arabic speaking country and highlights the differences between each one. I have read many books on the Middle East, and many of times they are simple stereotypes and often over sensationalize things that are very rare or extreme examples (For example the Princess Series). This book does not do that, it tells about real life and how Arabs live their lives day to day. I recommend this book for anyone. It is probably the best book I have read on the subject. It is a short and simple read, but you will have a better understanding of the Arab world after reading this.
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Boot
3.0 out of 5 stars ... mixed bag - on the upside it's accessible and easy to read and covers a lot of groundReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 30 August 2014
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A mixed bag - on the upside it's accessible and easy to read and covers a lot of ground, giving the lay reader a decent grounding in lots of the interesting cultural traits and differences in the region.
However, on the downside, those qualities can make parts of the book feel shallow or over-generalised. And some sections are little more than a few pages of quotations from third parties on eg Anti-Americanism.
One specific quibble is the contention that in the UK the War of American Independence is known as the War of American Rebellion, which is a completely new one on me and anyone else I've asked (all under 40 so perhaps it's historic....). It doesn't matter very much in context but it did make me ponder the quality of fact checking elsewhere.
Overall, a decent starting point for the first time reader - but don't let this be your one and only book on the subject.
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Lycoris13
5.0 out of 5 stars Informational and an Easy ReadReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 18 April 2018
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I was told to buy this book for an Arab Culture course at college. We haven't actually used it in the class, but both myself and my mother have read it cover to cover. It's an easy and interesting read. You can skip around the book without any negative affects. I am particularly fond of the final chapters of the book where Arab countries are discussed; these are separated by geographic location and the sections on each specific country are succinct, interesting, and informational. I had my mother read this prior to a month-long business trip to the UAE, and she found a lot of the information useful and helped prepare her for cultural differences.
This book is well worth the money.
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bereket
4.0 out of 5 stars many in the west expect an Arab to be like a westerner and Arabic people are misunderstood because they ...Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 1 February 2016
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Though I am in the middle east for many years and continue to live, , this book has been an eye opener to the many important sensitive cultural differences and way of life of an Arab which I was not able to see due to the lack of interaction with an Arab. many in the west expect an Arab to be like a westerner and Arabic people are misunderstood because they may not have the western mindset but choose to exhibit their traditional life style than the western in many ways. I have enjoyed reading this book and have acquired a more clearer picture Arabic culture. it is excellent book
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D_Bell
4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and useful as a starting pointReviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on 16 January 2016
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Informative and useful as a starting point. Understanding cultures is a complex matter but one has to start somewhere. This book is a good basic starting point. My understanding has been supported by discussions with the Arab people that I interact with daily.
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Mo Osman
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on Arabs so farReviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 19 July 2019
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That’s a fantastic book that compared Western (American) culture to the Arabs’. The writer narrates many great encounters and events that explains well the differences in the Arabic culture while still maintaining a neutral point of view. I really enjoyed reading it.
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Ashton Z
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 9 June 2019
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Had to order this for a Middle Eastern marketing class. Interesting book. It does give you helpful information on how to work with Arabs and insights to Arab culture.
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