Synopses & Reviews
From the author of the book that uniquely predicted the Egyptian revolution, a new message about the Middle East: everything we're told about the Arab Spring is wrong.
When popular revolutions erupted in Tunisia and Egypt, the West assumed that democracy and pluralism would triumph. Greatly praised author and foreign correspondent John R. Bradley draws on his extensive firsthand knowledge of the region's cultures and societies to show how Islamists will fill the power vacuum in the wake of the revolutions.
This vivid and timely book gives an original analysis of the new Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Bahrain by highlighting the dramatic spread of Saudi-funded Wahhabi ideology, inter-tribal rivalries, and Sunni-Shia divisions. Bradley gives a boots on the ground look at how the revolutions were first ignited and the major players behind them, and shows how the local population participated in and responded to the uprisings. In Tunisia he witnesses secularists under violent attack and in Egypt observes radical Islamists taking control of the streets. He illuminates the ancient sectarian strife shaking Bahrain, fierce civil war pitching tribe against tribe in Libya and Yemen, and ethnic divisions threatening to tear apart Syria and Iran. Taking it one step further, Bradley offers a comprehensive look at how across countries, liberal, progressive voices that first rallied the Arab masses were drowned out by the slogans of the better-organized and more popular radical Islamists.
With the in-depth knowledge of a local and the keen perspective of a seasoned reporter, After the Arab Spring offers a piercing analysis of what the empowerment of Islamism bodes for the future of the Middle East and the impact on the West.
Review
'
After the Arab Spring is indispensable to understanding why the Middle East uprisings aren't going where we want.
John R. Bradley has a better pulse on the reality than anyone.' - Robert Baer, former Middle-East based CIA operative and author of See No Evil
Praise for Saudi Arabia Exposed:
"A highly informed, temperate, and understanding account of a country . . . that is an enigma." - The New York Times
"A thoughtful, incisive portrait of a fractured nation . . . [a] remarkable volume." - Newsweek
"Offers insight into Saudi life seldom reported in the West." - New York Post
"Contribute[s] significantly to the debate . . . Bradley had a unique vantage. Buy this book." - Los Angeles Times Book Review
For Behind the Veil of Vice:
"Drawing on extensive research as well as the author's own substantial firsthand knowledge of the region, the book offers an essential corrective to the fantasies and misinformation about Middle Eastern cultures." - Publishers Weekly
Review
"(Bradley) has spent years in the region, and brings to After the Arab Spring a copious amount of first-hand knowledge. He also enlivens his otherwise downbeat and enervating argument with a potent dose of caustic wit.... He does well to force readers - many of whom may be unrealistically sanguine about recent events - to confront the dark side of the Arab Spring."--The National
“I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Arab spring, or anyone with a view on intervention in the region; it questions every assumption the media has portrayed and provides evidence for these statements.”—The Student Review (U.K.)
"Yes, the demonstrators were brave -- but religious extremists were manipulating them. John R. Bradley... looks beyond the blazing power of [the revolutions] to find Islamist groups steadily taking control."--Time Out (U.K.)
“This wry, concise and elegantly written book amounts to an impassioned critique of the Western medias narrative of the Middle East.”--The London Telegraph
“An impassioned polemic, scornful about western naivety."--The London Sunday Times
"This wry, concise and elegantly written book amounts to an impassioned critique of the Western medias narrative of the Middle East."--The Daily Telegraph“A savage indictment of alleged western naivety about the significance of this years Middle East revolutions. [Bradley] highlights Tunisia as the most conspicuous case of a society where Islamist dominance is likely to ensure that its last state will prove worse than its first, and is equally gloomy in forecasts for Egypt and Libya. It will be some time before we discover whether Mr Bradleys prognosis is accurate, but it has a nasty plausibility.”--Max Hastings, Financial Times
“Having boldly predicted the revolution in Egypt in his book Inside Egypt and warned of the ‘saving graces of Tunisias Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali dictatorship before the advent of the Jasmine Revolution in Behind the Veil of Vice, the author sends out another cry of alarm—this time at the democratic fallout that is benefiting the strident Islamist parties…. Bradley looks at the resurgence of Saudi-sponsored Wahhabism and other forms of tribalism since the revolutions in Yemen, Libya and elsewhere. He also considers the ‘Shia Axis and bitter lessons gained from Islamist incursions in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.”—Kirkus Reviews "After the Arab Spring is indispensable to understanding why the Middle East uprisings aren't going where we want. John R. Bradley has a better pulse on the reality than anyone."--Robert Baer, former Middle-East based CIA operative and author of See No Evil
"Bradley speaks Egyptian Arabic, knows the region well, and writes in a robust and punchy style... (He) gets the essential narrative of political Islamism.” - Literary Review
“Bradleys book is a good alternative view of the Arab Spring, and his pessimistic outlook is useful to avoid looking at events from so-called rose-colored glasses.” - Small Wars Journal
Praise for Saudi Arabia Exposed:
"A highly informed, temperate, and understanding account of a country . . . that is an enigma." - The New York Times
"A thoughtful, incisive portrait of a fractured nation . . . [a] remarkable volume." - Newsweek
"Offers insight into Saudi life seldom reported in the West." - New York Post
"Contribute[s] significantly to the debate . . . Bradley had a unique vantage. Buy this book." - Los Angeles Times Book Review
For Behind the Veil of Vice:
"Drawing on extensive research as well as the author's own substantial firsthand knowledge of the region, the book offers an essential corrective to the fantasies and misinformation about Middle Eastern cultures." - Publishers Weekly
Review
"Bradley has nothing but contempt for political posturing, and is out to debunk the myth of the Arab Spring as a triumph of the people..... [He] is on to something about the way society governs itself, the powers it hands to certain men whose weaknesses render them unfit for it, the religious forces that step in to supply the missing higher values only to debase them."-- The Times Literary Supplement
“A timely rebuttal to European and American reporting on the Arab Spring…Highly recommended.”--Choice
"(Bradley) has spent years in the region, and brings to After the Arab Spring a copious amount of first-hand knowledge. He also enlivens his otherwise downbeat and enervating argument with a potent dose of caustic wit.... He does well to force readers - many of whom may be unrealistically sanguine about recent events - to confront the dark side of the Arab Spring."--The National
“I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Arab spring, or anyone with a view on intervention in the region; it questions every assumption the media has portrayed and provides evidence for these statements.”—The Student Review (U.K.)
"Yes, the demonstrators were brave -- but religious extremists were manipulating them. John R. Bradley... looks beyond the blazing power of [the revolutions] to find Islamist groups steadily taking control."--Time Out (U.K.)
“This wry, concise and elegantly written book amounts to an impassioned critique of the Western medias narrative of the Middle East.”--The London Telegraph
“An impassioned polemic, scornful about western naivety."--The London Sunday Times
"This wry, concise and elegantly written book amounts to an impassioned critique of the Western medias narrative of the Middle East."--The Daily Telegraph“A savage indictment of alleged western naivety about the significance of this years Middle East revolutions. [Bradley] highlights Tunisia as the most conspicuous case of a society where Islamist dominance is likely to ensure that its last state will prove worse than its first, and is equally gloomy in forecasts for Egypt and Libya. It will be some time before we discover whether Mr Bradleys prognosis is accurate, but it has a nasty plausibility.”--Max Hastings, Financial Times
“Having boldly predicted the revolution in Egypt in his book Inside Egypt and warned of the ‘saving graces of Tunisias Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali dictatorship before the advent of the Jasmine Revolution in Behind the Veil of Vice, the author sends out another cry of alarm—this time at the democratic fallout that is benefiting the strident Islamist parties…. Bradley looks at the resurgence of Saudi-sponsored Wahhabism and other forms of tribalism since the revolutions in Yemen, Libya and elsewhere. He also considers the ‘Shia Axis and bitter lessons gained from Islamist incursions in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.”—Kirkus Reviews "After the Arab Spring is indispensable to understanding why the Middle East uprisings aren't going where we want. John R. Bradley has a better pulse on the reality than anyone."--Robert Baer, former Middle-East based CIA operative and author of See No Evil
"Bradley speaks Egyptian Arabic, knows the region well, and writes in a robust and punchy style... (He) gets the essential narrative of political Islamism.” - Literary Review
“Bradleys book is a good alternative view of the Arab Spring, and his pessimistic outlook is useful to avoid looking at events from so-called rose-colored glasses.” - Small Wars Journal
Praise for Saudi Arabia Exposed:
"A highly informed, temperate, and understanding account of a country . . . that is an enigma." - The New York Times
"A thoughtful, incisive portrait of a fractured nation . . . [a] remarkable volume." - Newsweek
"Offers insight into Saudi life seldom reported in the West." - New York Post
"Contribute[s] significantly to the debate . . . Bradley had a unique vantage. Buy this book." - Los Angeles Times Book Review
For Behind the Veil of Vice:
"Drawing on extensive research as well as the author's own substantial firsthand knowledge of the region, the book offers an essential corrective to the fantasies and misinformation about Middle Eastern cultures." - Publishers Weekly
Review
“A timely rebuttal to European and American reporting on the Arab Spring… [Bradley] lambasts reporters and the youthful Arab
Facebook and
Twitter generations who thought they could replace the Old Guard…. Highly recommended.”
—Choice“John R Bradley, a journalist who has lived in the Middle East for many years and was almost unique in predicting the uprising in Egypt, argues that the revolutions have failed in their most basic objectives…. After the Arab Spring predicted the rise of political Islam.”--The London Times
“This wry, concise and elegantly written book amounts to an impassioned critique of the Western media's narrative of the Middle East.”--The London Telegraph
“Bradley has nothing but contempt for political posturing, and is out to debunk the myth of the Arab Spring as a triumph of the people….. [He] is on to something about the way society governs itself, the powers it hands to certain men whose weaknesses render them unfit for it, the religious forces that step in to supply the missing higher values only to debase them.”--The Times Literary Supplement
“Bradley has spent many years living in the countries he discusses and is fluent in Arabic; his first hand experiences give the book a taste of personality and help to keep the reader remain engaged.... There is much to be learned from After the Arab Spring. I would recommend this book to anyone who claims to have a grasp on Middle Eastern conflict and how it should be handled.”--Americans for Informed Democracy
“After the Arab Spring is indispensable to understanding why the Middle East uprisings aren't going where we want. John R. Bradley has a better pulse on the reality than anyone.”--Robert Baer, former CIA operative and inspiration for the movie SYRIANA “Yes, the demonstrators were brave -- but religious extremists were manipulating them. John R. Bradley looks beyond the blazing power of [the revolutions] to find Islamist groups steadily taking control.”--Time Out (U.K.)
“A savage indictment of alleged western naivety about the significance of the Middle East revolutions. [Bradley] highlights Tunisia as the most conspicuous case of a society where Islamist dominance is likely to ensure that its last state will prove worse than its first, and is equally gloomy in forecasts for Egypt and Libya. Bradley's prognosis… has a nasty plausibility.”--Max Hastings, The Financial Times
“The situation [in the Middle East] has developed almost exactly along the lines that John R. Bradley predicted.”--The Spectator (U.K.)
“[Bradley] has spent years in the region, and brings to After the Arab Spring a copious amount of first-hand knowledge. He also enlivens his otherwise downbeat and enervating argument with a potent dose of caustic wit.... He does well to force readers - many of whom may be unrealistically sanguine about recent events - to confront the dark side of the Arab Spring.”--The National
“Bradley speaks Egyptian Arabic, knows the region well, and writes in a robust and punchy style... [He] gets the essential narrative of political Islamism.”--Literary Review (U.K.)
“An impassioned polemic, scornful about Western naivety towards the events of last year.”--The London Sunday Times
“Bradley is able to push through the blustery talking heads of, say, CNN or Al-Jazeera to allow the voice of the people themselves to be heard. He rightly undermines much of the gushy view that the region is fired by dreams of Western liberalism and democracy and counters that it is really all about feeding oneself and one's family. Bradley's book stimulates a part of the mind largely unworked by... other books.”--The Australian
“I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Arab Spring, or anyone with a view on intervention in the region. It questions every assumption the media has portrayed, and provides evidence for these statements.”--The Student Review (U.K.)
“Bradley's book is a good alternative view of the Arab Spring, and his pessimistic outlook is useful to avoid looking at events from so-called rose-colored glasses.”--Small Wars Journal
“Having boldly predicted the revolution in Egypt in his book Inside Egypt and warned of the 'saving graces' of Tunisia's Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali dictatorship before the advent of the Jasmine Revolution in Behind the Veil of Vice, the author sends out another cry of alarm—this time at the democratic fallout that is benefiting the strident Islamist parties…. Bradley looks at the resurgence of Saudi-sponsored Wahhabism and other forms of tribalism since the revolutions in Yemen, Libya and elsewhere. He also considers the 'Shia Axis' and bitter lessons gained from Islamist incursions in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.”--Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
When popular revolutions erupted in Tunisia and Egypt, Western pundits were quick to hail the stirrings of an Arab Spring and draw parallels between the resulting upheaval in the Middle East and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In The Tunisian Tsunami John R. Bradley offers a sober counternarrative to this outlook. It is not liberalism, democracy, and pluralism that will emerge triumphant, he argues, but instead radical Islam. Bradley illustrates how, in a region awash with extremist Wahhabi ideology, intertribal rivalries, and Sunni-Shia divisions, the idea that liberal and progressive trends will prevail is little more than wishful thinking.
About the Author
John R. Bradley is a widely published British correspondent. Based in the Middle East for more than a decade and fluent in Arabic, he is the author of three previous books on the region: Saudi Arabia Exposed, a Foreign Affairs bestseller; the critically acclaimed Inside Egypt; and Behind the Veil of Vice. He divides his time between Tunis and Cairo.
Table of Contents
Introduction
An Arab Spring?
Tunisia's Secularism Goes up in Smoke
The Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt's Revolution
Dictatorship, Democracy and Radical Islam
Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Bahrain
Tribal Terror: The Disintegration of Yemen and Libya
Washington's Nightmare
Conclusion