This searching study of the Arabs is the work of a well-known Swiss writer and broadcaster, who has spent a large part of his life amont the people of the Middle East ans has acquired an intimate knowledge of their language, their history and literature, their beliefs, and their way of life. Written witha burning sincerity and based upon a profound understanding of the ideals, aspirations and achievements as well as the frailties, mistakes and tribulations of a complex people, Hottinger’s book is without a doubt the most comprehensive and authoritative assessment of Arabism to date. It is divided into two main parts. The first of these traces the development of the Arab-Islamic culture from the poetic tradition of the Beduins, through Muhammad, the dynasties of the Umayyads and Abbasids, to its zenith as heir to the scientific spirit of the Greeks and its subsequent decline from that position. The second part of the book discusses the impact upon the Arabs of nineteenth-century European civilization and the machine age. The author’s method here is to let the Arabs speak for themselves in their own words. Thus, the facts are vividly presented, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions. The second part also describes and analyses the political upheavals in the Arab world in recent years and the crises that have accompanied the transition from dependence upon the colonial powers to Arab nationalism in the shadow of the Cold War. It hus provides a most telling, objective assessment of modern Egypt under Nasser. Published under the auspices of the Near Eastern Center, University of California, Los Angeles. This title is part of UC Press’s Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1963.

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