Us versus Them, Second Edition

356 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 4 maps

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-6952-6
Published: September 2022
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-1-4696-7062-1
Published: August 2022
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-6378-2
Published: August 2022

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Acclaimed historian of U.S.–Middle East foreign relations Douglas Little examines how American presidents, policy makers, and diplomats dealt with the rise of Islamic extremism in the modern era. Focusing on White House decision-making from George H. W. Bush to Barack Obama, Little traces the transformation of the Cold War–era "Red Threat" into the "Green Threat" of radical Islam. Analyzing key episodes from the 1991 Persian Gulf War and Bill Clinton's mishandling of the Oslo peace process through the 9/11 attacks, George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq, and the showdown with ISIS, Little shows how the threat posed by Islamic "others" shaped the Middle Eastern policies of both Democratic and Republican presidents. This second edition includes a new afterword that carries the story through the Trump administration and into the Biden presidency, focusing particularly on Afghanistan, a major trouble spot in the Muslim world that will command global attention for many years to come.

About the Author

Douglas Little is professor of history at Clark University. He is author of American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East since 1945.
For more information about Douglas Little, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"Little demonstrates the value of professional historical research for what have become politicized, even polemical, debates over America's confrontation with Islamists and offers the best available account of post-9/11 U.S. foreign policy."—American Historical Review

"A major contribution to historical scholarship on the subject, one that will fascinate, enlighten, provoke, and at times delight readers of all levels and persuasions."--Salim Yaqub, author of Imperfect Strangers: Americans, Arabs, and U.S.-Middle East Relations in the 1970s

“Little demonstrates the value of professional historical research for what have become politicized, even polemical, debates over America’s confrontation with Islamists and offers the best available account of post-9/11 U.S. foreign policy.”—American Historical Review