I have checked the book out, and it seems to have attracted a fairly amount of criticism, since its publication.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arab_Mind

I will nevertheless read it.

Some sources claim the book is racist and not backed by solid research. Any opinions on this? (looking for a good book on the topic).

> Some sources claim the book is racist

Funny thing - given how easy it is to get an "racist" label these days, I'd treat this as a signal that the book may be touching on some controversial topics or reaching unpopular conclusions.

Funny, I get the exact opposite vibes. Given how crackpot racism has a strong historical background it's very hard not to treat it as a signal of being a produce of crackpot racism.

"Race" does not explain anything - although, many people would love it to because that would make it easier to comprehend the world. There is very dark history of this in european pseudoscience. There is far more genetic variation in average within population groups of same 'race' as there are between 'races'.

There are cultures with obviously harmful practices - take female circumsision for example - but to the way to respond to those is to make it clear it is not acceptable, and not to use it as an example of the barbarism of individuals belonging to the culture in question.

There are wide variations in cultural sensibilities, and actual painpoints between interactions of populations. There are well known, and actually difficult problems to solve. Adding crackpot theories to the mix based on opinion and imagination does not really help the world to evolve.

I"m not referring to racism per se, but to accusations of racism. It's way too easy to get a "racist" label nowadays.

But that generally does not happen in mainstream literary critique of academic texts, unless for a reason.

If that is true, then "racist" is a poor signal of anything, including dealing with controversial topics and conclusions.

Thats my feeling as well. Everything that can be controversial and doesn't appeal to the mantas of MSM liberal media is labeled as an -ism.

This one [0] is fun. Choice quote: "The best use for this volume, if any, is as a doorstop."

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/24/worlddispatch....

On what topic? The middle-east? If so, probably you want to read "The Modern Middle East: A History".

See: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books/middleeast...

For some more resources

Thanks! Looks exactly what I was looking for.

I mean, it probably is, but that seems to come with the field. Even Said's Orientalism has later come under heavy attack for painting its so-called "East" with a single heavy-handed brushstroke and its "West" with not even that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism_(book)#Criticism

Real life is far more complex than your average geopolitical wannabe-strategist gives the slightest credit for.

Adam Curtis's Bitter Lake has some good stuff too.

https://thoughtmaybe.com/bitter-lake/

I watched this a while back on the BBC and remember it being pretty interesting. It examines the relationships of the US, UK and Russia with the middle east through the lens of their respective involvements in Afghanistan.

Classic? Not in any intellectually credible circle. It's just an overlong anti Arab screed.

The reviews on amazon.com seem quite positive, especially from people who have lived in Arab countries eg "I have lived in the Middle East, on and off, for four years, and no book explained the Arab mind as well as Raphael Patai's." It doesn't seem popular with the politically correct crowd.

That it anecdotally speaks to a few anonymous persons who engaged with a small subset of Arabs in particular parts of the ME is hardly impressive, but if you want to hold it up, so be it. My immediate family and much of our circle of friends (conservative South Asians) were settled there for decades. Some are still there. The descriptions Patai uses do not jibe with our experiences, at least not in the aggregate. It also doesn't jibe with some other reviewers who've lived in the ME. I wonder why you discount their experience. Also, if you want to regard 'racist' as a conversation ender, you should be just as wary of throwing around 'politically (in)correct'.

Maybe so. I only glanced at the reviews, I haven't read the thing.

As a 1st generation Chinese-American who has seen more than his fair share of cooky, isolated, romantic and ill-informed Western expats living in East Asia, I'm not sure I'd trust their opinions on the societies they live in, especially if they did so only "on and off for four years".