by Robin Wright

Review
“Few Middle East observers have a keener eye for the region than Wright, and she is a talented trend spotter. Two decades ago her Sacred Rage foreshadowed the appeal of militant Islam and the challenge it posed. With Dreams and Shadows she illuminates, in riveting fashion, the hopeful political personalities and developments in what many mistakenly see as the uninterrupted bleakness of the Middle East. Her insights—drawn from vast experience, a remarkable array of Middle Eastern contacts, and an unblinking sense of realism—are cause for cautious optimism.”
—Representative Tom Lantos, Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs

“Dreams and Shadows offers a panoramic perspective on the prospects of change in the Middle East. Wright brings to life an array of forces, voices, and ideas—both inspiring and troubling—in an engaging political travelogue. Readers will come away with a better understanding of the region’s rich past, a sense of its current stirrings, and a view into what may lie ahead.”
—Former National Security Adviser Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft

“A compelling account of a turbulent region whose future is inescapably bound to our own. Anyone who wants to understand the seismic forces at work would be well advised to read Dreams and Shadows.”
—Senator Joseph Biden, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

“Very rarely is our world so faithfully captured. The Middle East in recent decades has only become more complex. Wright’s insights and analyses are critical for any sensible understanding of what is happening. Her greatest contribution is to grasp the deep currents of hope, humanity, and dignity that anchor the often turbulent societies of the region. This book is essential reading.”
—Rami G. Khouri, syndicated columnist, Beirut’s Daily Star

“Written in the best style of a veteran traveler and expert, Dreams and Shadows tells the story of the world’s most volatile area, going through its most profound changes after decades of stagnation. Wright’s journey among reformers and reactionaries, clerics and democracy advocates is a necessary reference to anyone interested in understanding the Middle East’s undercurrents—and it taught me quite a lot about our neighborhood.”
—Aluf Benn, diplomatic editor of the Israeli daily Haaretz

“Insightful and passionate. Wright is well aware of the dilemmas facing the Middle East. But she also reminds us that we need not resort to military force and violence or resign ourselves to compromise with extremism and tyranny. Since tyranny and extremism as well as democracy and freedom are not defined by geographical, national, religious, or ethnic boundaries, hope lies in the aspirations of those (our true allies) in the region who against all odds are fighting for pluralism, openness, and human rights.”
—Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran

"Fascinating reading for anyone who likes true human drama. Only Wright could have written Dreams and Shadows because only Wright has traveled so widely, interviewed such diverse leaders, and brought so much wisdom to analyzing the region's many-sided puzzles. This volume, full of mesmerizing detail and large truths, sets a new standard for scholarship on the modern Middle East."
-Secretary Madeleine Albright

"Robin Wright brings her enormous knowledge of the Middle East, gained over years of reporting, to narrate how the region is undergoing enormous social change brought on by technology and globalization, and why, despite Iraq, democracy remains on the region's agenda."
-- Francis Fukuyama, Johns Hopkins University Professor of International Political Economy and author of America at the Crossroads

"In Dreams and Shadows, Robin Wright offers a compelling account of the political contours that are defining the modern Middle East. Drawing upon her decades of travel and reporting from the region, Wright reveals the undercurrents of the latest fundamental searching in Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon, as well as the labyrinthine politics of Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Iran, and others. With her impressive access to the region's political and opinion leaders, Wright brings us to the ideological battle lines of the new Middle East, including promising openings and awakenings too often followed by disappointment and repression. She describes autocrats, democrats, and theocrats skirmishing in increasingly unpredictable ways."
-- U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN), Republican Leader of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Dreams and Shadows is a lucid and comprehensive look at tumultuous events that have shaped the Middle East and will continue to chart its future. Relying on thirty five years of reporting Robin Wright provides a rich tapestry of information and insight that is enjoyable to read and will also go a long way in providing understanding of the Middle East and the challenges that it presents U.S. foreign policy."
--Vali Nasr, author of The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future

"This is the best of all possible worlds: An old hand guides us through the changes in post-9/11 Middle East, and is able to sort out in a sober, smart way what is really going on."
-Thomas E. Ricks, author of FIASCO: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

Book Description
A magnificent reckoning with the extraordinary changes engulfing the Middle East, by one of our greatest reporters on the region

Robin Wright first landed in the Middle East on October 6, 1973, the day the fourth Middle East war erupted. She has covered every country and most major crises in the region since then, through to the rise of Al-Qaeda and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. For all the drama of the past, however, the region's most decisive traumas are unfolding today as the Middle East struggles to deal with trends that have already reshaped the rest of the world. And for all the darkness, there is also hope. Some of the emerging trends give cause for greater optimism about the future of the Middle East than at any time since the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948.

Dreams and Shadows is an extraordinary tour d'horizon of the new Middle East, with on-the-ground reportage of the ideas and movements driving change across the region-and the obstacles they confront. Through the powerful storytelling for which the author is famous, Dreams and Shadows ties together the players and events in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, the Gulf states, and the Palestinian territories into a coherent vision of what lies ahead.

A marvelous field report from the center of the storm, the book is animated by the characters whose stories give the region's transformation its human immediacy and urgency. It is also rich with the history that brought us to this point. It is a masterpiece of the reporter's art and a work of profound and enduring insight.

Book Description
The contemporary era of globalization demonstrates that the local and global aspects of business and government are increasingly intertwined. Over the past fifty years, international business has evolved from the realm of the largest multinational corporations to the base scenario; every business and every citizen who participates in economic activity--by creating, buying, and selling products and services--is now a member of the global economy. But moving our thinking and actions beyond the local sphere is both challenging and problematic; the international domain is more complex, and introduces a new dimension of risks and uncertainties. Yet it it also ripe for business opportunity and wealth creation for those who learn how to navigate in it. Globalization defines and makes sense of the workings of the global economy--and how it influences businesses and individuals on a local scale. Each chapter identifies common questions and issues that have gained exposure in the popular media--such as outsourcing, the high cost of international travel, and the impact of a fast-growing China--to illustrate underlying drivers and mechanisms at work. Covering international trade, national wealth disparities (the haves vs. the have-nots), foreign investment, and geographical and cultural issues, and supported with illustrations, maps, charts, a glossary and timeline of key events, this volume illuminates the dynamics of the global economy and informs readers of its profound impact on our daily lives.

About the Author
DONALD J. BOUDREAUX is Chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University, where he teaches courses in international economics and policy, law and business, and macro- and microeconomics. Previously, he was president of the Foundation for Economic Education, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Economics at Clemson University, and Assistant Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and has also served as an Olin Visiting Fellow in Law and Economics at the Cornell Law School. He has lectured in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe, on a wide variety of topics, including the nature of law, antitrust law and economics, and international trade. He has published in The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, The Washington Times, he Journal of Commerce, as well as several scholarly journals, book reviews, and contributions to books, scholarly websites, and encyclopedias.
Product Details
Hardcover: 184 pages
Publisher: Greenwood Press (December 30, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031334213X
ISBN-13: 978-0313342134
Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #147,534 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#93 in Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Macroeconomics

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Making Poor Nations Rich: Entrepreneurship and the Process of Economic Development (Stanford Economics & Finance) (Paperback)
by Benjamin Powell (Editor)

Review
"The book concludes with encouraging success stories from nations in Asia (China, India), Europe (Ireland), and even Africa (Botswana), whose economic achievement illustrates Powell's belief that encouraging small-business entrepreneurs is the best way to achieve and maintain general affluence... The writing here is vivid and intelligent. Futurists will be particularly interested in the essays by James A. Dorn on China's key achievements and remaining economic needs, as well as the assessment of India's prospects for attaining world prominence in trade and culture by Parth J. Shah and Renuka Sane."—The Futurist

"This book is a bold quarterback sneak directly into a line of argument in economic development studies that has long been ignored, trivialized or considered impossible to measure. It emphasizes the critical role of entrepreneurship vigorously undertaken in a friendly institutional setting, moving from theoretical analyses to individual and national case studies in countries and regions worldwide." —William Ratliff, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

"While previous literature on entrepreneurship focused on how to construct new government programs to promote entrepreneurship, this book turns that theory on its head. This book shows how policies that limit government's scope of action are necessary to promote entrepreneurship. It is a refreshing change, and much more in line with the new and upcoming theories in this area than any previous works on state entrepreneurship policy." —Russell S. Sobel, West Virginia University

Book Description
Why do some nations become rich while others remain poor? Traditional mainstream economic growth theory has done little to answer this question—during most of the twentieth century the theory focused on models that assumed growth was a simple function of labor, capital, and technology. Through a collection of case studies from Asia and Africa to Latin America and Europe, Making Poor Nations Rich argues for examining the critical role entrepreneurs and the institutional environment of private property rights and economic freedom play in economic development.

Making Poor Nations Rich begins by explaining how entrepreneurs create economic growth and why some institutional environments encourage more productive entrepreneurship than others. The volume then addresses countries and regions that have failed to develop because of barriers to entrepreneurship. Finally, the authors turn to countries that have developed by reforming their institutional environment to protect private property rights and grant greater levels of economic freedom.

The overall lesson from this volume is clear: pro-market reforms are essential to promoting the productive entrepreneurship that leads to economic growth. In countries where this institutional environment is lacking, sustained economic development will remain illusive.

Muslims more numerous than Catholics: Vatican
Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:29pm BST
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single religious denomination in the world, the Vatican said on Sunday.

Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican's newly-released 2008 yearbook of statistics, said Muslims made up 19.2 percent of the world's population and Catholics 17.4 percent.

"For the first time in history we are no longer at the top: the Muslims have overtaken us," Formenti told Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano in an interview, saying the data referred to 2006.

He said that if all Christian groups were considered, including Orthodox churches, Anglicans and Protestants, then Christians made up 33 percent of the world's population -- or about 2 billion people.

The Vatican recently put the number of Catholics in the world at 1.13 billion people. It did not provide a figure for Muslims, generally estimated at around 1.3 billion.

Formenti said that while the number of Catholics as a proportion of the world's population was fairly stable, the percentage of Muslims was growing because of higher birth rates.

He said the data on Muslim populations had been compiled by individual countries and then released by the United Nations, adding the Vatican could only vouch for its own statistics.

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; editing by Andrew Roche)

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.

Al-Sadr Pulls Fighters Off Iraq Streets
Email this Story

Mar 30, 11:08 AM (ET)

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA

(AP) Mahdi Army fighters gesture as they stand next to a burning Iraq armored police vehicle outside a...
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BAGHDAD (AP) - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Sunday that he was pulling his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.
The Iraqi government quickly welcomed al-Sadr's apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement, sparked Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.
Al-Sadr's nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. It said the first point was: "taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere."
He also demanded that the Iraqi government stop "haphazard raids" and release security detainees who haven't been charged, two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the government.

(AP) A Mahdi Army fighter reacts outside a state run al-Iraqiya TV facility in Basra, Iraq, Sunday,...
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Followers handed out sweets in Baghdad's main Mahdi Army militia stronghold of Sadr City.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh called the statement "positive and responsible." But he also warned in a telephone interview broadcast on Iraqi state TV. that security forces would continue to target those who don't follow the order.
"We expect a wide response to this call," he said. "After this announcement, anybody who targets the government and its institutions will be regarded ... as outlaws."
Scattered firing could be heard in central Baghdad hours after al-Sadr's statement was released, and rockets or mortars were fired toward the U.S.-protected Green Zone.
At least seven Iraqis were killed and 21 wounded when two rounds apparently fell short, striking houses in the commercial district of Karradah, police said.

(AP) Mahdi Army fighters react outside a state run al-Iraqiya TV facility in Basra, Iraq, Sunday, March...
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A U.S. public address system in the Green Zone warned people to "duck and cover" and to stay away from windows.
Iraqi security forces have been facing fierce resistance to their crackdown on militia violence in the southern city of Basra.
Dozens of Shiite gunmen stormed a state TV facility in central Basra before al-Sadr's declaration Sunday, forcing Iraqi troops guarding the building to flee and setting armored vehicles on fire.
One of al-Maliki's top security officials was killed in a mortar attack against the palace that houses the military operations center, officials said.
The prime minister's Dawa party issued a statement of condolences identifying the slain official as Salim Qassim, known by his nickname Abu Laith al-Kadhimi.

(AP) Mahdi Army fighters drive away with captured Iraqi police vehicles outside a state run al-Iraqiya...
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The strength of the resistance to the week-old offensive has taken the U.S.-backed government by surprise, forcing it to come up with a new tactical plan targeting several Mahdi Army strongholds, a government official said.
The official, who was in Basra but spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information, said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also had brought in reinforcements and appealed to local tribal leaders to help secure the area.
The prime minister, himself a Shiite, has called the fight "a decisive and final battle" and vowed to remain in Basra until government forces wrest control from militias, including the Mahdi Army that is loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
But al-Maliki also acknowledged Saturday that he may have miscalculated by failing to foresee the strong backlash the offensive would provoke in Baghdad and other cities where Shiite militias wield power.
Hundreds of militants, soldiers and civilians have been killed as fighting spread to Baghdad neighborhoods and other southern cities.

(AP) Mahdi Army fighters drive away with captured Iraqi police vehicles outside a state run al-Iraqiya...
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Several clashes have involved U.S. forces and the U.S. military launched airstrikes in Basra. The military said 16 enemy fighters were killed in when an AC-130 gunship strafed heavily armed militants attacking Iraqi troops during clashes on Saturday.
U.S. and Iraqi troops also repelled an attack against American special forces Saturday in Suwayrah, a Shiite militia stronghold 25 miles south of Baghdad, killing 13 enemy fighters, the military said in a statement.
Iraqi police said three militants were killed and 21 detained when clashes resumed there on Sunday.
In other violence, a suicide car bomber killed five U.S.-backed Sunni fighters and wounded eight other people near the oil hub of Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad.
Gunmen also killed five policemen in Duluiyah, a Sunni-dominated area 45 miles north of Baghdad.
The U.S. military said separately that American and Iraqi troops unearthed 14 badly decomposed bodies in a mass grave on Saturday in Muqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad. It was the second such find since Thursday, when 37 bodies were found.
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Associated Press writers Hamid Ahmed and Saad Abdul-Kadir contributed to this article.