Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's Future: Stephen Kinzer: 9780805091274: Amazon.com: Books
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Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's FutureHardcover – June 8, 2010
by Stephen Kinzer (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 53 customer reviews
The bestselling author of Overthrow offers a new and surprising vision for rebuilding America's strategic partnerships in the Middle East
What can the United States do to help realize its dream of a peaceful, democratic Middle East? Stephen Kinzer offers a surprising answer in this paradigm-shifting book. Two countries in the region, he argues, are America's logical partners in the twenty-first century: Turkey and Iran.
Besides proposing this new "power triangle," Kinzer also recommends that the United States reshape relations with its two traditional Middle East allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia. This book provides a penetrating, timely critique of America's approach to the world's most volatile region, and offers a startling alternative.
Kinzer is a master storyteller with an eye for grand characters and illuminating historical detail. In this book he introduces us to larger-than-life figures, like a Nebraska schoolteacher who became a martyr to democracy in Iran, a Turkish radical who transformed his country and Islam forever, and a colorful parade of princes, politicians, women of the world, spies, oppressors, liberators, and dreamers.
Kinzer's provocative new view of the Middle East is the rare book that will richly entertain while moving a vital policy debate beyond the stale alternatives of the last fifty years.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Kinzer (Overthrow), columnist at the Guardian, takes an iconoclastic approach in this smart policy prescriptive that calls for elemental changes in America's relationships with Israel and Saudi Arabia, and even more remarkably, for the U.S. to find more sensible and natural allies in Turkey and Iran, the only Muslim countries in the Middle East where democracy is deeply rooted. This radical break from diplomatic convention has its roots deep in the cold war history that Kinzer spends most of the book attentively mining. When he's corralling Middle Eastern history, Kinzer does an excellent job at stitching essential facts into a coherent and telling whole, demonstrating why, for instance, Turkey's recent return to greater religiosity is a victory against Islamist policies and how Israel's willingness to do America's dirty work (e.g., selling arms to Guatemala's military regime) tied the U.S. to Israel and Saudi Arabia so powerfully in the past. He's less successful in analysis, though, and is prone to repetition; this astute book builds toward convincing new ideas, but doesn't provide the necessary scaffolding to hold them up. (June)
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Review
“Fresh and well-informed. . . . Kinzer argues persuasively that despite their very different governments -- one friendly and free, the other hostile and theocratic -- both Turkey and Iran are host to vibrant democratic traditions that make them natural long-term partners of the United States. . . . [A] lively, character-driven approach to history.”--The Washington Post
“Because we’re so accustomed to bad news out of the Middle East, trouble seems inevitable. Reset suggests that needn’t be so. But can anybody hear its lucid, historically grounded points above the shouting and the gunfire?”—Chicago Tribune
“At once a stern critique of American foreign policy and a concise, colorful, and compelling modern history of Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. A former journalist for The New York Times and The Boston Globe, Kinzer is a masterful storyteller. His cast of characters leaps off the page… Kinzer makes a compelling case… that the road to peace in the Middle East runs through Ankara and Tehran, not Jerusalem.”—NPR.org
“In Reset, [Kinzer] proposes a radical new course for the United States in the region. The United States, he argues, needs to partner with Iran and Turkey to create a ‘powerful triangle’ whose activities would promote a culture of democracy and combat extremism. . . . Kinzer’s U.S.-Iranian-Turkish alliance is a long-term project, and the idea has ample grounding in the modern history of the region. Unlike other Muslim countries there, Kinzer shows, Iran and Turkey have at last a century’s worth of experience struggling for political freedom . . . [and] share some fundamental values with the United States.”--Foreign Affairs
“The main message is intriguing.” – The Economist
“An original, unsettling critique . . . [and] an imaginative solution to the Middle-East stalemate.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Kinzer re-imagines the world and America’s role in it.”—Robert Lacey, author of Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Terrorists, Modernists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia
“Stephen Kinzer’s deep knowledge of the Middle East is complemented by his lucid style and new ideas. He sees Turkey as a key state for the region and the world, suggests new and innovative ways to deal with Saudi Arabia and Iran, and calls for the United States to play a much more robust and determined role in the Arab-Israeli peace process. His historical perspective and trenchant analysis make Reset an informative read for experts and newcomers alike.”—Thomas R. Pickering, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and under secretary of state for political affairs
“Stephen Kinzer’s Reset argues that contradictory U.S. policies in the Middle East are producing serial disasters. He recounts with verve the dramatic historical events and the vivid personalities that brought us to these straits, and argues for a new realism about the rapid rise of Iran and Turkey as regional superpowers challenging the old, dysfunctional bargains struck in the twentieth century. This book is a must-read for anyone concerned with the future of the United States in the Middle East.”—Juan Cole, professor of history, University of Michigan, and author of Napoleon’s Egypt and Engaging the Muslim World
“I read and relished Stephen Kinzer’s Reset – kudos to him for approaching the enduring problem of the Middle East in a fresh way. Even old hands may learn something new in these fluent, timely, and provocative pages.”—Karl E. Meyer, coauthor of Tournament of Shadows and Kingmakers: The Invention of the Modern Middle East
“Does the United States have nothing but bad choices in the Middle East? Stephen Kinzer says we have attractive choices if our leaders will just abandon the premises of the Cold War and look instead at opportunities in front of their eyes. Kinzer elaborates grand ideas in the conversational voice of a story-teller and challenges conventional wisdom in the most reasonable tones. But let the reader beware: He will make you think, and you may never see the region in quite the same way again.”—Gary Sick, senior research scholar, Columbia University, and author of All Fall Down: America’s Tragic Encounter with Iran
“A vivid account underscoring the persistent folly of Western, and especially U.S. policy in the Middle East. This is history with bite and immediacy. Yet Stephen Kinzer sees cause for hope: The possibility of change exists if we but seize it.”—Andrew J. Bacevich, author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism
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Product details
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Times Books; 1 edition (June 8, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805091270
Stephen Kinzer
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Stephen Kinzer
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middle east saudi arabia foreign policy iran and turkeyturkey and iran stephen kinzer israel and saudi united statescold war middle eastern democratically elected kemal ataturklast 100 years must read regime change hostage crisis shah menpolicy prescriptions iranian people recommend this book
Top Reviews
Shirley Temple
4.0 out of 5 starsI like that the book summarizes all the things that happened ...January 7, 2017
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I like that the book summarizes all the things that happened in Middle East and Central America under one cover. There is some understanding of the middle eastern culture. However, the writer seems to be as deceived by Erdogan as was fashionable in 2002-2010 until he showed his true colors; Islamist.. So I would say that it is a little shallow in evaluating movements; but he would not be the only one deceived by Erdogan.
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Robert J. Crawford
4.0 out of 5 starsMore history than policy prescriptions, still completely relevant and deepNovember 7, 2015
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Though Reset was written just before the Arab Spring and the rise of Isis, this book remains a shrewd interpretation of the deeper forces at work in the middle east. As such, its policy prescriptions are a useful overview of our options as we enter an even darker period than existed when it was written in 2009.
The bulk of the book is historical, on modern Turkey and Iran from around WWI, when both were in revolutionary upheaval. In Turkey, the Ottomans have been overthrown, bringing an end to an autocratic dynasty that had lasted for centuries; the man who eventually emerged was Kemal Ataturk, who imposed a secular dictatorship, determined to remove Islam from politics. Similar events were occurring in Iran as a weak and incompetent Shah was deposed, replaced by a new dynasty, the Pahlavis. Kinzer's point is that both began to develop a democratic impulse from this time, with help from sincere Americans who appear to have been disinterested advocates of open, participatory government. In spite of the later disappointments, according to Kinzer, not only does this set them apart from other Muslim countries, but it makes them compatible with American interests in the region, i.e. potential long-term, strategic partners.
To buttress his argument, Kinzer goes into fascinating details about each country's history. Ataturk, I learned to my astonishment, was an alcoholic and undisciplined carouser, who died of cirrhosis of the liver, bored of his leadership role. While he was essentially a dictator, according to Kinzer, he laid the foundations for the modern state that emerged under his successors (inlcuding the Islamist Reccep Erdogan). Iran in many ways is more interesting. Most of us know about the CIA coup that ousted Mosaddegh in 1953, which resulted in the re-instatement of the Shah as dictator and protected British and American oil interests. What is less known is how this impacted the body politic, simultaneously giving rise to democratic expectations and a renewed Shiite fundamentalism. The Shah emerged as an megalomaniacal dictator bent on restoring the Persian Empire, which galvanized Shiite clerics to oppose him. He played American politicians for fools, posing as a force for stability in the region while brutally oppressing his people to no rational purpose.
In contrast to them, Kinzer also dissects the US "special friendship" with Saudi Arabia. Due to my own ignorance, this was where I learned the most from this book. From a meeting with FDR, the US supported the dynasty and then used the Saudis for the funding of innumerable shady foreign policy undertakings, rendering them largely opaque and corrupting, among others, the Bush family, according to Kinzer. The point is that the heart of the relationship carries contradictions that doom us with their consequences, i.e. the Saudis supporting destructive fundamentalist movements and engaging in internal repression so harsh that it resembles North Korea. There isn't, Kinzer argues, a strategic convergence of interests with the US. I will have to read further in this.
He also succinctly addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though I found this section dated. The time for negotiations, he argues, is over; the deal for peace is perfectly clear: in exchange for security, land concessions and borders must be imposed, including limited sovereignty for both sides and international oversight, either by the US alone or a coalition of some sort. The alternative, in this view, is continued stalemate and sporadic violence, as it had been for 60 years; this situation, he acknowledges, keeps a number of demagogues in power, so must be dictated and enforced by the US president. This, I admit, I find most unlikely.
The root of his argument - that the US shares values, culture, and interests with Iran and Turkey - is compelling. Their people want stability, increased trade, and enhanced democracy, resistant regimes notwithstanding. By focusing on them, the US could wean itself from an unhealthy and hypocritical alliance with Saudi Arabia. This is fine, but the rise of ISIS may make this a distant proposition, to say the least. Nonetheless, the potential rapprochement with Iran, which could lead to cooperation in the stabilization of Irak and Syria, speaks in favor of this. Of course, the displacement of Saudi Arabia and perhaps even Israel as the principal American allies in the region is problematic at best.
As one can see, some events have overtaken this book. However, its analysis of the deeper historical currents remains relevant and extremely useful. It is for that that I recommend this book as essential background.
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Amaia
5.0 out of 5 starsQuick Read With Powerful ContentJune 10, 2017
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This was my third Kinzer book, and the recent attempted coup and political chaos in Turkey motivated me to seek more information on the topic. Even though this book was published 7 years ago, I feel Kinzer's insight into the country was valuable in helping me make sense of current events. I also appreciate his Iran perspective. As Iran has been in headlines recently, Kinzer's view is one not often presented in the news, but a view that I believe should also be heard.
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Ninos Youkhana
4.0 out of 5 starsVery Good ReadMarch 8, 2017
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It was a very good read. I enjoyed how Stephen draws lessons from history. I like his approach. I just think his solutions are not applicable to the current situations. But at least he is thinking outside the box.
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DR A.
4.0 out of 5 starsEnjoyed thorough analysis of past, present, and future.July 30, 2016
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This book, very well, summarizes the history and the evolution of these two countries in the middle east. Any politician or businessman who wants to deal with these two countries should read this book and use its insight to achieve his goals.
Toward the last chapters, it became too repetitive of same facts that bore me. The author's other books have been lacking of this repetition. I felt as if he is filling the book! That's why I gave it four stars. But overall, I recommend this book to everyone. Wonderful research in history and diplomacy of the region.
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Francisco Figueroa
3.0 out of 5 starsAn Insightful BookJanuary 22, 2018
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Opens the readers' eyes with solid historical perspectives. However, his biases and urgent desire for rapprochement color his reasoning and reflect significant naïveté.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsBest Read on Iran and Middel East Challenges and Recent HistoryMay 20, 2015
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the best book I have read about Iran, Turkey and greater Middle East issues and challenges. A must read for all those whom interested in learning real truth and some potential alternative to war and conflicts.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsReset: Iran, Turkey and America's Future by Stephen KinzerMarch 20, 2014
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Great read. Kinzer clearly illuminates the historical and political framework behind America's policies in Turkey and Iran during the last century
Stephen Kinzer brings key players to life through a coherent narrative that reveals patterns of interference by western powers that impact the two countries to this day.
Published in 2010, the book is a good foundation for better understanding interactions among Turkey, Iran and the United States today.
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