Book Thoughts: A Rage for Order by Robert F. Worth

A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS by Robert F. Worth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book, beginning with the beginnings of the so-called "Arab Spring" in Egypt and Tahrir Square and detailing many of the subsequent events in Egypt, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Tunisia, feels like a must read for anyone trying to gain a grasp at the politics and current state of the Middle East. Worth's work here is superb, giving his readers adequate information on relevant history and cultural differences along with the rare touch of humanity to make this a truly engrossing read. The three main takeaways I had from the book ...

1. The sections Worth writes on Syria shows its unraveling through the friendship of two young women, Aliaa Ali and Noura Kanafani. One belonged to the Alawi sect of Shiite Islam, which generally held the power of the Syrian state (Assad being a member); the other belonged to Sunni Islam. Before Egypt's Tahrir Square moment, this difference didn't seem to matter. After, and as the effects of the Arab Spring moved to Syria, that difference soon became insurmountable for the two young women. Their friendship dissolves, as they both are unable to reconcile the fact that their friend belongs to a group (Assad's state or the revolutionaries) who are committed atrocities. Both ironically and tragically, they are unable to accept any negative views of their own groups, claiming such is propaganda from the other side and not real news. In sum, the loss of friendship is tragic, and is a touching reminder of the many varied impacts of conflict and war. It's also a lesson in the inability to sort through information and the casual acceptance of confirmation bias.

2. Throughout the book, Worth intersperses the current events of the revolutionary movements and its disintegration, along with the stories of certain individuals, with pertinent histories of the particular countries, be it Libya or Syria or Yemen. In so doing, the book is extremely educational; I felt like I learned something new constantly, and that the information I was learning helped me understand some of the dynamics of both the Arab Spring and the subsequent backlash in the respective countries. Ultimately, while the book is not a history book, the history it does provide was very informative and useful.

3. It feels like we often hear about the Shias and the Sunnis, without a great deal of understanding of the difference. I'm aware, vaguely, of the historical theological differences resulting in the successors to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. But what this book makes clear, I think, is the political significance of those differences. In particular (and this may speak to my own ignorance), but understanding Shiite Islam as Iran and Sunni Islam as Saudi Arabia, and finding those two countries working against each other for control for the region, did more, I think, to align my thoughts about politics and policy in the Middle East than any other aspect of the book. Such is not a complicated takeaway, certainly, but I felt it was a simplistically significant one.

Overall, an incredibly informative and interesting read, that seems particularly relevant for understanding both some recent history and the likely course of motivations for future actions in the region. Very much worth the read.

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