The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter

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4 JULY 2021 • By Maryam Zar
Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, at age 94, building homes with Habitat for Humanity (photo Robert Franklin/AP/SIPA).
Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, at age 94, building homes with Habitat for Humanity (photo Robert Franklin/AP/SIPA).

The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter A biography by Kai Bird Penguin Random House (June 2021) ISBN9780451495235

Maryam Zar

The Outlier is published by Penguin Random House .
The Outlier is published by Penguin Random House.

The Outlier is published by Penguin Random House.

Before the end of Inauguration Day on January 20, 1977, newly-sworn-in President Jimmy Carter made his first executive decision — one that would prove controversial like many more. He appointed his head of Veterans Affairs, Max Cleland, then swiftly asked him to support what would be an Executive Order to pardon all Vietnam draft dodgers. Cleland warned, “…there is growing opposition among members of the Senate to your plan to grant amnesty to draft dodgers.” Carter briskly retorted, “I don’t care if all 100 of them are against me. It’s the right thing to do.” Thus the tone is set for his entire “unfinished” presidency, as Kai Bird describes it in his new book, The Outlier. Bird accompanies the reader through a domestic history of the United States, focused at first on the civil rights movement as it burgeoned and slowly seeped through the South, where a young James Earl (“Jimmy”) Carter came of age, and then advanced through the unexpected political career of the man who became an unexpected President. Heir to a peanut farm, Carter grew the business to what would be billions of dollars in value by today’s standards. With a natural combination of innovation stemming from an engineer’s mind and the charisma of a deft politician and a wily businessman’s sense of what sells and when to call a bluff, Carter navigated the Southern political landscape, then the national Democratic party inside track and finally, Washington, DC. Through it all, Kai Bird walks us through a lifetime that encountered some of the biggest issues of our time, and some of the most memorable characters in 20th century American political history — including Ruth Bader Ginsberg, whom Carter elevated to the Federal bench (and Clinton later appointed to the Supreme Court), Ed Koch, the colorful NY Mayor (paving the way for Rudy Giuliani), and Ted Kennedy, as Chappaquiddick swallowed his political future.

“Carter is perhaps our most enigmatic president. He is often celebrated for what he has achieved in his four-decade-long post-presidency. Conservatives and liberals alike accord him the accolade of “the best ex-president.” But most citizens and the punditocracy routinely label his a “failed” presidency, ostensibly because he failed to win reelection. But in truth, Carter is sometimes perceived as a failure simply because he refused to make us feel good about the country. He insisted on telling us what was wrong and what it would take to make things better. And for most Americans, it was easier to label the messenger a “failure” than to grapple with the hard problems. Ultimately, Carter was replaced by a sunny, more reassuring politician who simply promised that he would “make America great again.”
— Kai Bird

The chronicle begins in the Deep South of rural southern Georgia, at a time when white boys kept strictly white company and school segregation was a battle-line between friends. Jimmy, by conspicuous contrast, made lasting friendships with Black peers and supported desegregation. He learned the depth of kindness from his mother, Miss Lillian, and the Black families they befriended who forgave after great injustice was visited upon them in a “sadistic” South where tradition was justification for great violence. Later, united as a couple with southern belle Rosalynn Smith — his wife and political confidant now of 75 years — they supported desegregation unabashedly. The Carters lost friends over their refusal to support the enduring tradition of Southern segregation but stayed the course because they believed they were on the right side of history. History looms large for Carter, who grew up in a household (famously run by his flamboyant mother who became a media darling during his presidential years) that demanded literacy, taught righteousness, and ingrained a deep sense of service. Carter was raised — and saw his political fortunes rise unexpectedly — in post-bellum Georgia, where “a belief in white supremacy permeated the red baked clay.” But his consciousness diverged from Jim Crow’s well-trodden path, and he eventually understood that he was comfortable operating as an “outsider.” His first successful campaign (after a failed run) for Georgia governor would hinge on being able to present as the candidate with a healthy distance from the political establishment. After he won, his first statement would make him an outlier even to the anti-establishment supporters that propelled his win. He famously proclaimed in his 1971 acceptance speech at the gates of the Governor’s mansion that “the time for racial discrimination [in the South] is over!” His advisers would warn him not to alienate his allies and his opponents would charge him with having a “liberal heart.” But Carter remained undeterred, so that when he finally set his sights on the presidency, he did so knowing he would be the outlier candidate with an unlikely chance. When his campaign won a narrow victory against Gerald Ford, sweeping him into the White House, the new President owed nothing to anyone and had proven the critics wrong. That unique brand of populist politics masterminded by his shrewd team of Georgia’s youngest was a jolt to Washington politics. There they upended norms and ruffled feathers all the way to the Oval Office, to which Carter brought back the historic Resolute Desk (then on loan to the Smithsonian) and made cardigans and blue jeans acceptable attire for the world’s most powerful man. Their mission was to “depomp” the Presidency.

Kai Bird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist and Director at the CUNY Graduate Center's Leon Levy Center for Biography. His last book, The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames , was a New York Times bestseller. He chronicled his childhood in the Middle East in his memoir, Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis — which was a Finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2006 for American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (co-authored with Martin J. Sherwin). His work includes critical writings on the Vietnam War, Hiroshima, nuclear weapons, the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the CIA. He is a contributing editor at The Markaz Review.
Kai Bird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist and Director at the CUNY Graduate Center’s Leon Levy Center for Biography. His last book, The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames, was a New York Times bestseller. He chronicled his childhood in the Middle East in his memoir, Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis — which was a Finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2006 for American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (co-authored with Martin J. Sherwin). His work includes critical writings on the Vietnam War, Hiroshima, nuclear weapons, the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the CIA. He is a contributing editor at The Markaz Review.

If power corrupted most, it humbled Jimmy Carter. He operated the executive branch with the authority given to him by the people, to do the right thing. Rarely considering consensus if it meant a trade-off of ideals, Carter always meant to keep the best interests of the American people at heart. This gained him no allies in Washington, where brokering for power is an art and outliers pay a price. Rosalynn once warned him that he would be doing the American people “no favors” if he couldn’t get re-elected.  Her words proved prophetic as Carter’s Presidency wound on and the challenges mounted — both at home and abroad — with Carter surrounded by few Washington allies. Among his great ambitions was Middle East peace. Carter believed that a comprehensive peace which addressed the grievances of both Jews and Arabs was the right thing to work towards. He believed that a Southern man with Christian roots and the intellect to cut through posturing and unravel the impasse was just the persona to do it. This was a mission, not a political task for him. Carter set out to make peace with both sides, essentially by using himself and the credibility of the American presidency as a bridge. He reached out to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, to befriend each. Thus began the road to Camp David and the historic peace accord that came with a shared Pulitzer Prize recognizing the effort; but a political fate that would see the assassination of one, the resignation of another and a failed re-election bid for the host. It seems the seeds for the post-presidential life of Jimmy Carter were probably sewn then, as Carter recognized no Israeli partner for peace in Begin but a warm and eager disposition in Sadat. In a 1977 phone conversation with James Callaghan, the British Prime Minister, Carter intimated that he was “favorably impressed with the Arab leaders,” believing “they genuinely want to make some progress [on Middle East peace].” His impression of Sadat, he confided to Rosalynn, was that he was akin to a “shining light” on the Middle East stage — “a man who would change history.” A year later, after several meetings with Begin, he would confide in his diary that he thought the Israeli Prime Minister was “a small man with limited vision [who] will not take necessary steps to bring peace to Israel.” To the extent that Arab-Israeli peace was a minefield he chose, the Iran debacle was one he walked into unwittingly. On New Year’s Eve, 1977, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter were in Iran, graciously being hosted by Shah Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Empress Farah, at a “delightful banquet.” That evening, Carter would give a fateful speech that would be remembered by the words, “because of the great leadership of the Shah, [Iran] is an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world.” Months later, when the new regime of Ayatollah Khomeini came to power and held 72 American hostages for more than a year, bringing the Carter presidency to its knees, those words would haunt him. But Kai Bird reminds us that following that phrase, Carter went on to publicly deliver a thinly-veiled critique of the Shah. “[I]sland of stability would be quoted with mockery by the pundits,” Bird explains. “But never cited is the fact that Carter’s toast also included a pointed quote from the thirteenth-century Persian poet, Sa’adi: ‘If the misery of others leaves you indifferent and with no feeling of sorrow, then you cannot be called a human being.'” Carter had seen the protests not more than a few weeks earlier in November, when the Shah had visited the White House and Iranian students studying in America had formed loud demonstrations around the perimeter. DC Police responded with so much tear gas that when the air wafted over to the South lawn, the Shah could not avoid having to wipe away tears. Carter must have known in the back of his politically-astute mind that this monarch was in more trouble than anyone could tell, amid the festivities that permeated the pomp of a state visit.

Blindfolded U.S. hostages and their Iranian captors outside the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, 1979. (U.S. Army/Handout via Reuters).
Blindfolded U.S. hostages and their Iranian captors outside the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, 1979. (U.S. Army/Handout via Reuters).

At home, by February of 1978, the only national security aide with experience on Iran, Gary Sick, was warning Carter’s national security advisor, Zbignew Brzezinski (“Zbig”) that “the truly massive riots” now taking shape across Iran were not “communists,” but the “work of what may be the true threat to the Shah’s regime — the reactionary Muslim right wing which finds his modernization program too liberal and moving too fast away from the traditional values of Iranian society.” Zbig, for his part, “couldn’t imagine that the Shah couldn’t handle a few hundred rioters.” Months later, the Shah was a deposed monarch who fled his homeland, head bowed, flying around the globe in search of medical care. Carter had to decide whether he would risk US hostages to serve a dying king he had befriended, or refuse him permission to land Stateside. To many Iranians who had already fled Iran in fear of what a fierce revolution might bring, the king without a landing strip did not bode well. For families like mine here in the States, those were tense days we watched with great angst as they incredulously played out. What we thought was a staunch Iranian ally in Jimmy Carter turned out to be a vacillating President without the resolve to aid his friend, the Shah. That was, at least at the time, how many saw it. It would take decades for me to grow my own knowledge of the Carter presidency, the Pahlavi dynasty and the forces of populism to fully understand that the great conspiracy theories that would have the US totally responsible for the downfall of the Shah, or simple protests by the sons of conservative families masterminded the rise of a demagogue, were both misguided. Carter was a man who was motivated by an unyielding moral compass that wouldn’t compromise, and the populous masses in Iran weren’t chanting for an Islamic Republic but for change they couldn’t achieve through a fair political system that gave them a vote. The Shah fled on Carter’s watch and Iran fell into chaos — played out most visibly through the images of American hostages blindfolded and paraded before photographers and television cameras.

“Pundits wryly joked that Carter was the only ex-president to have used his presidency as a ‘stepping-stone’ to higher achievements.” — Kai Bird

The world blamed Carter. A daring rescue attempt failed dismally, cementing Carter’s legacy as shamefully incapable. With few allies at home or abroad, Carter watched the American national memory fade around his policy achievements and rise with collective ire around the hostage crisis. In the end, Carter refused a sickly king deposed by his people and negotiated the release of the hostages using quiet back channels that forged a deal with humiliating timing. Carter would lose the Presidency to a masterful communicator in Ronald Reagan, and cede his legacy as an effective leader in large part over what became an unmistakably complex crisis in a complicated region where Carter had culled very few allies. If foreign policy was not, in the end, among Carter’s enduring accomplishments, domestic wins should have cemented a kinder legacy for this one-term president. He established the Department of Education as we know it today, and set the stage for some of today’s progressive narratives around fundamental fairness and equity. Among them was his bold move to protect vast lands in the Alaskan wilderness from oil and gas exploration. In 1978, an Act that protected 80 million acres of wildlands was due to expire, risking 45 million of its protected acreage. Carter desperately wished to save it. A consummate environmentalist even then, he had written to the great photographer Ansel Adams saying he considered “the protection of Alaskan lands the top environmental issue of our time.” As the deadline loomed, Carter’s interior secretary suggested an untested move to use the 1906 Antiquities Act protecting “building and lands as national monuments” as a means to use unilateral power of the Executive to designate 56 million acres of Alaskan wilderness as a national monument, preserving it at least for the next two years. The gambit worked — but lost Carter more allies in the Alaskan political establishment. By then, he had already been defeated in national elections and was preparing to walk out of the Oval Office a lonely man. This book suggests he could take solace knowing he had done all the right things, as he saw them to be. The author has an unmistakable affinity for the subject as a man who was perhaps ahead of his time, or too altruistic for the role. With this book, Bird cements the likelihood that Carter’s ultimate legacy will not be his failed one-term presidency with foreign policy debacles crowned by a humiliating hostage crisis, but a well-intentioned man who ultimately proved the moral compass by which he governed to be an admirable one. Today, Carter’s legacy is still shaping — perhaps as an ever criticized US president with an anguished end to his single term in office — but Kai Bird makes the case for a principled President, who remains a proud man on the world stage and a hero for progressive humanitarians everywhere.

Maryam Zar

Maryam Zar Writer-attorney Maryam Zar was born in Iran and came to the US in 1979. She graduated from Boston University with a BS in Mass Communication and a JD from Pepperdine Law School. In 1992 she returned to Iran where she... Read more

Writer-attorney Maryam Zar was born in Iran and came to the US in 1979. She graduated from Boston University with a BS in Mass Communication and a JD from Pepperdine Law School. In 1992 she returned to Iran where she became an advertising executive as well as a correspondent at a time when the nation was troubled by the neighboring conflict in Iraq. She made her mark as a fiercely capable woman in a patriarchal land, and was named editor for the English-language newspaper Iran News. Returning to southern California, in 2010 she launched Womenfound, an organization that would raise awareness for the plight of women around the world and advocate for their empowerment. In 2017, she was appointed to the LA City Commission on the Status of Women by Mayor Eric Garcetti, and presently chairs the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils (an alliance of 14 Neighborhood and Community Councils on LA’s Westside). She has written for HuffPost, the LA Review of Books and other publications.

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27 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Ahmed Twaij
Gaza vs. Mosul from a Medical and Humanitarian Standpoint
Art & Photography

Palestinian Artists & Anti-War Supporters of Gaza Cancelled

27 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Nada Ghosn
Palestinian Artists & Anti-War Supporters of Gaza Cancelled
Fiction

Bahar: 22 years in the Life of a Compulsory Hijabi in Teheran

20 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Joumana Haddad
Bahar: 22 years in the Life of a Compulsory Hijabi in Teheran
Art & Photography

Iranian Women Photographers: Life, Freedom, Music, Art & Hair

20 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Malu Halasa
Iranian Women Photographers: Life, Freedom, Music, Art & Hair
Book Reviews

The Fiction of Palestine’s Ghassan Zaqtan

13 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Cory Oldweiler
The Fiction of Palestine’s Ghassan Zaqtan
Opinion

Beautiful October 7th Art Belies the Horrors of War

13 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Mark LeVine
Beautiful October 7th Art Belies the Horrors of War
Islam

October 7 and the First Days of the War

23 OCTOBER 2023 • By Robin Yassin-Kassab
October 7 and the First Days of the War
Editorial

Palestine and the Unspeakable

16 OCTOBER 2023 • By Lina Mounzer
Palestine and the Unspeakable
Poetry

Home: New Arabic Poems in Translation

11 OCTOBER 2023 • By Sarah Coolidge
<em>Home</em>: New Arabic Poems in Translation
Essays

The Vanishing of the Public Intellectual

1 OCTOBER 2023 • By Moustafa Bayoumi
The Vanishing of the Public Intellectual
Book Reviews

Reza Aslan’s An American Martyr in Persia Argues for US-Iranian Friendship

1 OCTOBER 2023 • By Dalia Sofer
Reza Aslan’s <em>An American Martyr in Persia</em> Argues for US-Iranian Friendship
Essays

Alaa Abd El-Fattah: Political Prisoner and Public Intellectual

1 OCTOBER 2023 • By Yasmine El Rashidi
Alaa Abd El-Fattah: Political Prisoner and Public Intellectual
Art

Special World Picks Sept 15-26 on TMR’s Third Anniversary

14 SEPTEMBER 2023 • By TMR
Special World Picks Sept 15-26 on TMR’s Third Anniversary
Amazigh

World Picks: Festival Arabesques in Montpellier

4 SEPTEMBER 2023 • By TMR
World Picks: Festival Arabesques in Montpellier
Fiction

“A Dog in the Woods”—a short story by Malu Halasa

3 SEPTEMBER 2023 • By Malu Halasa
“A Dog in the Woods”—a short story by Malu Halasa
Essays

A Day in the Life with Forugh Farrokhzad (and a Tortoise)

3 SEPTEMBER 2023 • By Fargol Malekpoosh
A Day in the Life with Forugh Farrokhzad (and a Tortoise)
Book Reviews

What’s the Solution for Jews and Palestine in the Face of Apartheid Zionism?

21 AUGUST 2023 • By Jonathan Ofir
What’s the Solution for Jews and Palestine in the Face of Apartheid Zionism?
Opinion

The Middle East is Once Again West Asia

14 AUGUST 2023 • By Chas Freeman, Jr.
The Middle East is Once Again West Asia
Book Reviews

Can the Kurdish Women’s Movement Transform the Middle East?

31 JULY 2023 • By Matthew Broomfield
Can the Kurdish Women’s Movement Transform the Middle East?
A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life: Cairo

24 JULY 2023 • By Sarah Eltantawi
A Day in the Life: Cairo
Book Reviews

Ghassan Zeineddine Reflects On, Transcends the Identity Zeitgeist

17 JULY 2023 • By Youssef Rakha
Ghassan Zeineddine Reflects On, Transcends the Identity Zeitgeist
Opinion

The End of the Palestinian State? Jenin Is Only the Beginning

10 JULY 2023 • By Yousef M. Aljamal
The End of the Palestinian State? Jenin Is Only the Beginning
Fiction

Arrival in the Dark—fiction from Alireza Iranmehr

2 JULY 2023 • By Alireza Iranmehr, Salar Abdoh
Arrival in the Dark—fiction from Alireza Iranmehr
Fiction

“Here, Freedom”—fiction from Danial Haghighi

2 JULY 2023 • By Danial Haghighi, Salar Abdoh
“Here, Freedom”—fiction from Danial Haghighi
Essays

Zahhāk: An Etiology of Evil

2 JULY 2023 • By Omid Arabian
Zahhāk: An Etiology of Evil
Fiction

“The Long Walk of the Martyr”—fiction from Salar Abdoh

2 JULY 2023 • By Salar Abdoh
“The Long Walk of the Martyr”—fiction from Salar Abdoh
Fiction

Abortion Tale: On Our Ground

2 JULY 2023 • By Ghadeer Ahmed, Hala Kamal
Abortion Tale: On Our Ground
Fiction

Genesis and East Cairo—fiction from Shady Lewis Botros

2 JULY 2023 • By Shady Lewis Botros, Salma Moustafa Khalil
Genesis and East Cairo—fiction from Shady Lewis Botros
Book Reviews

Youssef Rakha Practices Literary Deception in Emissaries

19 JUNE 2023 • By Zein El-Amine
Youssef Rakha Practices Literary Deception in <em>Emissaries</em>
Essays

Alien Entities in the Desert

4 JUNE 2023 • By Dror Shohet
Alien Entities in the Desert
Featured Artist

Nasrin Abu Baker: The Markaz Review Featured Artist, June 2023

4 JUNE 2023 • By TMR
Nasrin Abu Baker: The Markaz Review Featured Artist, June 2023
Books

The Markaz Review Interview—Leila Aboulela, Writing Sudan

29 MAY 2023 • By Yasmine Motawy
The Markaz Review Interview—Leila Aboulela, Writing Sudan
Books

Cruising the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

29 MAY 2023 • By Rana Asfour
Cruising the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair
Islam

From Pawns to Global Powers: Middle East Nations Strike Back

29 MAY 2023 • By Chas Freeman, Jr.
From Pawns to Global Powers: Middle East Nations Strike Back
Book Reviews

How Bethlehem Evolved From Jerusalem’s Sleepy Backwater to a Global Town

15 MAY 2023 • By Karim Kattan
How Bethlehem Evolved From Jerusalem’s Sleepy Backwater to a Global Town
Book Reviews

Radius Recounts a History of Sexual Assault in Tahrir Square

15 MAY 2023 • By Sally AlHaq
<em>Radius</em> Recounts a History of Sexual Assault in Tahrir Square
Book Reviews

A Debut Novel, Between Two Moons, is set in “Arabland” Brooklyn

15 MAY 2023 • By R.P. Finch
A Debut Novel, <em>Between Two Moons</em>, is set in “Arabland” Brooklyn
TMR Conversations

TMR CONVERSATIONS: Amal Ghandour Interviews Raja Shehadeh

11 MAY 2023 • By Amal Ghandour, Raja Shehadeh
TMR CONVERSATIONS: Amal Ghandour Interviews Raja Shehadeh
Photography

Iran on the Move—Photos by Peyman Hooshmandzadeh

1 MAY 2023 • By Peyman Hooshmandzadeh, Malu Halasa
Iran on the Move—Photos by Peyman Hooshmandzadeh
Book Reviews

Hard Work: Kurdish Kolbars or Porters Risk Everything

1 MAY 2023 • By Clive Bell
Hard Work: Kurdish <em>Kolbars</em> or Porters Risk Everything
Cities

In Luxor, Egypt Projects Renewed Tourism Economy

10 APRIL 2023 • By William Carruthers
In Luxor, Egypt Projects Renewed Tourism Economy
Film Reviews

Yallah Gaza! Presents the Case for Gazan Humanity

10 APRIL 2023 • By Karim Goury
<em>Yallah Gaza!</em> Presents the Case for Gazan Humanity
Fiction

“The Stranger”—a Short Story by Hany Ali Said

2 APRIL 2023 • By Hany Ali Said, Ibrahim Fawzy
“The Stranger”—a Short Story by Hany Ali Said
Beirut

Tel Aviv-Beirut, a Film on War, Love & Borders

20 MARCH 2023 • By Karim Goury
<em>Tel Aviv-Beirut</em>, a Film on War, Love & Borders
Beirut

Interview with Michale Boganim, Director of Tel Aviv-Beirut

20 MARCH 2023 • By Karim Goury
Interview with Michale Boganim, Director of <em>Tel Aviv-Beirut</em>
Book Reviews

In Search of Fathers: Raja Shehadeh’s Palestinian Memoir

13 MARCH 2023 • By Amal Ghandour
In Search of Fathers: Raja Shehadeh’s Palestinian Memoir
Fiction

“Raise Your Head High”—new fiction from Leila Aboulela

5 MARCH 2023 • By Leila Aboulela
“Raise Your Head High”—new fiction from Leila Aboulela
Cities

The Odyssey That Forged a Stronger Athenian

5 MARCH 2023 • By Iason Athanasiadis
The Odyssey That Forged a Stronger Athenian
Cities

Coming of Age in a Revolution

5 MARCH 2023 • By Lushik Lotus Lee
Coming of Age in a Revolution
Essays

Home Under Siege: a Palestine Photo Essay

5 MARCH 2023 • By Anam Raheem
Home Under Siege: a Palestine Photo Essay
Art & Photography

Becoming Palestine Imagines a Liberated Future

27 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Katie Logan
<em>Becoming Palestine</em> Imagines a Liberated Future
Book Reviews

White Torture Prison Interviews Condemn Solitary Confinement

13 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Kamin Mohammadi
<em>White Torture</em> Prison Interviews Condemn Solitary Confinement
Columns

Letters From Tehran: Braving Tehran’s Roundabout, Maidan Valiasr

30 JANUARY 2023 • By TMR
Letters From Tehran: Braving Tehran’s Roundabout, Maidan Valiasr
Book Reviews

Editor’s Picks: Magical Realism in Iranian Lit

30 JANUARY 2023 • By Rana Asfour
Editor’s Picks: Magical Realism in Iranian Lit
Art

The Creative Resistance in Palestinian Art

26 DECEMBER 2022 • By Malu Halasa
The Creative Resistance in Palestinian Art
Featured article

Don’t Be a Stooge for the Regime—Iranians Reject State-Controlled Media!

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Malu Halasa
Don’t Be a Stooge for the Regime—Iranians Reject State-Controlled Media!
Columns

Siri Hustvedt & Ahdaf Souief Write Letters to Imprisoned Writer Narges Mohammadi

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By TMR
Siri Hustvedt & Ahdaf Souief Write Letters to Imprisoned Writer Narges Mohammadi
Music

Revolutionary Hit Parade: 12+1 Protest Songs from Iran

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Malu Halasa
Revolutionary Hit Parade: 12+1 Protest Songs from Iran
Essays

Conflict and Freedom in Palestine, a Trip Down Memory Lane

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Eman Quotah
Film

Imprisoned Director Jafar Panahi’s No Bears

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Clive Bell
Imprisoned Director Jafar Panahi’s <em>No Bears</em>
Art

Art World Picks: Albraehe, Kerem Yavuz, Zeghidour, Amer & Tatah

12 DECEMBER 2022 • By TMR
Columns

Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 3

5 DECEMBER 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 3
Book Reviews

Fida Jiryis on Palestine in Stranger in My Own Land

28 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Diana Buttu
Fida Jiryis on Palestine in <em>Stranger in My Own Land</em>
Opinion

Historic Game on the Horizon: US Faces Iran Once More

28 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Mireille Rebeiz
Essays

Stadiums, Ghosts & Games—Football’s International Intrigue

15 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Francisco Letelier
Stadiums, Ghosts & Games—Football’s International Intrigue
Opinion

Fragile Freedom, Fragile States in the Muslim World

24 OCTOBER 2022 • By I. Rida Mahmood
Fragile Freedom, Fragile States in the Muslim World
Opinion

Letter From Tehran: On the Pain of Others, Once Again

24 OCTOBER 2022 • By Sara Mokhavat
Letter From Tehran: On the Pain of Others, Once Again
Poetry

The Heroine Forugh Farrokhzad—”Only Voice Remains”

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Sholeh Wolpé
The Heroine Forugh Farrokhzad—”Only Voice Remains”
Art

#MahsaAmini—Art by Rachid Bouhamidi, Los Angeles

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Rachid Bouhamidi
#MahsaAmini—Art by Rachid Bouhamidi, Los Angeles
Art & Photography

Homage to Mahsa Jhina Amini & the Women-Led Call for Freedom

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By TMR
Homage to Mahsa Jhina Amini & the Women-Led Call for Freedom
Art

Defiance—an essay from Sara Mokhavat

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Sara Mokhavat, Salar Abdoh
Defiance—an essay from Sara Mokhavat
Essays

Nawal El-Saadawi, a Heroine in Prison

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Ibrahim Fawzy
Nawal El-Saadawi, a Heroine in Prison
Book Reviews

Cassette Tapes Once Captured Egypt’s Popular Culture

10 OCTOBER 2022 • By Mariam Elnozahy
Cassette Tapes Once Captured Egypt’s Popular Culture
Columns

Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 1

26 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 1
Fiction

“Another German”—a short story by Ahmed Awadalla

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Ahmed Awadalla
“Another German”—a short story by Ahmed Awadalla
Art

My Berlin Triptych: On Museums and Restitution

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Viola Shafik
My Berlin Triptych: On Museums and Restitution
Columns

Phoneless in Filthy Berlin

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Maisan Hamdan, Rana Asfour
Phoneless in Filthy Berlin
Columns

Unapologetic Palestinians, Reactionary Germans

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Abir Kopty
Unapologetic Palestinians, Reactionary Germans
Art & Photography

Photographer Mohamed Badarne (Palestine) and his U48 Project

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Viola Shafik
Photographer Mohamed Badarne (Palestine) and his U48 Project
Art & Photography

Shirin Mohammad: Portrait of an Artist Between Berlin & Tehran

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Noushin Afzali
Shirin Mohammad: Portrait of an Artist Between Berlin & Tehran
Columns

Salman Rushdie, Aziz Nesin and our Lingering Fatwas

22 AUGUST 2022 • By Sahand Sahebdivani
Salman Rushdie, Aziz Nesin and our Lingering Fatwas
Opinion

Attack on Salman Rushdie is Shocking Tip of the Iceberg

15 AUGUST 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Attack on Salman Rushdie is Shocking Tip of the Iceberg
Art

Abundant Middle Eastern Talent at the ’22 Avignon Theatre Fest

18 JULY 2022 • By Nada Ghosn
Abundant Middle Eastern Talent at the ’22 Avignon Theatre Fest
Editorial

Editorial: Is the World Driving Us Mad?

15 JULY 2022 • By TMR
Editorial: Is the World Driving Us Mad?
Centerpiece

Big Laleh, Little Laleh—memoir by Shokouh Moghimi

15 JULY 2022 • By Shokouh Moghimi, Salar Abdoh
Big Laleh, Little Laleh—memoir by Shokouh Moghimi
Book Reviews

Alaa Abd El-Fattah—the Revolutionary el-Sissi Fears Most?

11 JULY 2022 • By Fouad Mami
Alaa Abd El-Fattah—the Revolutionary el-Sissi Fears Most?
Book Reviews

Traps and Shadows in Noor Naga’s Egypt Novel

20 JUNE 2022 • By Ahmed Naji
Traps and Shadows in Noor Naga’s Egypt Novel
Columns

World Refugee Day — What We Owe Each Other

20 JUNE 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
World Refugee Day — What We Owe Each Other
Fiction

“Godshow.com”—a short story by Ahmed Naji

15 JUNE 2022 • By Ahmed Naji, Rana Asfour
“Godshow.com”—a short story by Ahmed Naji
Fiction

“The Suffering Mother of the Whole World”—a story by Amany Kamal Eldin

15 JUNE 2022 • By Amany Kamal Eldin
“The Suffering Mother of the Whole World”—a story by Amany Kamal Eldin
Opinion

Israel and Palestine: Focus on the Problem, Not the Solution

30 MAY 2022 • By Mark Habeeb
Israel and Palestine: Focus on the Problem, Not the Solution
Book Reviews

Fragmented Love in Alison Glick’s “The Other End of the Sea”

16 MAY 2022 • By Nora Lester Murad
Fragmented Love in Alison Glick’s “The Other End of the Sea”
Essays

We, Palestinian Israelis

15 MAY 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
We, Palestinian Israelis
Book Reviews

In East Jerusalem, Palestinian Youth Struggle for Freedom

15 MAY 2022 • By Mischa Geracoulis
Featured excerpt

Palestinian and Israeli: Excerpt from “Haifa Fragments”

15 MAY 2022 • By khulud khamis
Palestinian and Israeli: Excerpt from “Haifa Fragments”
Latest Reviews

Palestinian Filmmaker, Israeli Passport

15 MAY 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Palestinian Filmmaker, Israeli Passport
Book Reviews

Siena and Her Art Soothe a Writer’s Grieving Soul

25 APRIL 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Siena and Her Art Soothe a Writer’s Grieving Soul
Opinion

Palestinians and Israelis Will Commemorate the Nakba Together

25 APRIL 2022 • By Rana Salman, Yonatan Gher
Palestinians and Israelis Will Commemorate the Nakba Together
Book Reviews

Egyptian Comedic Novel Captures Dark Tale of Bedouin Migrants

18 APRIL 2022 • By Saliha Haddad
Egyptian Comedic Novel Captures Dark Tale of Bedouin Migrants
Book Reviews

Abū Ḥamza’s Bread

15 APRIL 2022 • By Philip Grant
Abū Ḥamza’s Bread
Columns

Not Just Any Rice: Persian Kateh over Chelo

15 APRIL 2022 • By Maryam Mortaz, A.J. Naddaff
Not Just Any Rice: Persian Kateh over Chelo
Film Reviews

Palestine in Pieces: Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon

21 MARCH 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Palestine in Pieces: Hany Abu-Assad’s <em>Huda’s Salon</em>
Opinion

U.S. Sanctions Russia for its Invasion of Ukraine; Now Sanction Israel for its Occupation of Palestine

21 MARCH 2022 • By Yossi Khen, Jeff Warner
U.S. Sanctions Russia for its Invasion of Ukraine; Now Sanction Israel for its Occupation of Palestine
Latest Reviews

Three Love Poems by Rumi, Translated by Haleh Liza Gafori

15 MARCH 2022 • By Haleh Liza Gafori
Three Love Poems by Rumi, Translated by Haleh Liza Gafori
Essays

The Alexandrian: Life and Death in L.A.

15 FEBRUARY 2022 • By Noreen Moustafa
The Alexandrian: Life and Death in L.A.
Film

“The Translator” Brings the Syrian Dilemma to the Big Screen

7 FEBRUARY 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
“The Translator” Brings the Syrian Dilemma to the Big Screen
Essays

Taming the Immigrant: Musings of a Writer in Exile

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Ahmed Naji, Rana Asfour
Taming the Immigrant: Musings of a Writer in Exile
Columns

Getting to the Other Side: a Kurdish Migrant Story

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Iason Athanasiadis
Getting to the Other Side: a Kurdish Migrant Story
Art & Photography

Refugees of Afghanistan in Iran: a Photo Essay by Peyman Hooshmandzadeh

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Peyman Hooshmandzadeh, Salar Abdoh
Refugees of Afghanistan in Iran: a Photo Essay by Peyman Hooshmandzadeh
Book Reviews

Meditations on The Ungrateful Refugee

15 JANUARY 2022 • By Rana Asfour
Meditations on <em>The Ungrateful Refugee</em>
Fiction

“Turkish Delights”—fiction from Omar Foda

15 DECEMBER 2021 • By Omar Foda
“Turkish Delights”—fiction from Omar Foda
Interviews

The Fabulous Omid Djalili on Good Times and the World

15 DECEMBER 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
The Fabulous Omid Djalili on Good Times and the World
Essays

Syria Through British Eyes

29 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Rana Haddad
Syria Through British Eyes
Book Reviews

The Vanishing: Are Arab Christians an Endangered Minority?

15 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Hadani Ditmars
The Vanishing: Are Arab Christians an Endangered Minority?
Film Reviews

Victims of Discrimination Never Forget in The Forgotten Ones

1 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Victims of Discrimination Never Forget in <em>The Forgotten Ones</em>
Featured excerpt

Memoirs of a Militant, My Years in the Khiam Women’s Prison

15 OCTOBER 2021 • By Nawal Qasim Baidoun
Memoirs of a Militant, My Years in the Khiam Women’s Prison
Film Reviews

Will Love Triumph in the Midst of Gaza’s 14-Year Siege?

11 OCTOBER 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Will Love Triumph in the Midst of Gaza’s 14-Year Siege?
Art & Photography

Hasteem, We Are Here: The Collective for Black Iranians

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Maryam Sophia Jahanbin
Hasteem, We Are Here: The Collective for Black Iranians
Essays

Why Resistance Is Foundational to Kurdish Literature

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Ava Homa
Why Resistance Is Foundational to Kurdish Literature
Featured excerpt

The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Kobra Banehi, Jordan Elgrably
The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi
Essays

The Complexity of Belonging: Reflections of a Female Copt

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Nevine Abraham
The Complexity of Belonging: Reflections of a Female Copt
Latest Reviews

The Limits of Empathy in Rabih Alameddine’s Refugee Saga

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Dima Alzayat
The Limits of Empathy in Rabih Alameddine’s Refugee Saga
Latest Reviews

Shelf Life: The Irreverent Nadia Wassef

15 SEPTEMBER 2021 • By Sherine Elbanhawy
Shelf Life: The Irreverent Nadia Wassef
Weekly

Palestinian Akram Musallam Writes of Loss and Memory

29 AUGUST 2021 • By khulud khamis
Palestinian Akram Musallam Writes of Loss and Memory
Weekly

Reading Egypt from the Outside In, Youssef Rakha’s “Baraa and Zaman”

24 AUGUST 2021 • By Sherifa Zuhur
Reading Egypt from the Outside In, Youssef Rakha’s “Baraa and Zaman”
Editorial

Why COMIX? An Emerging Medium of Writing the Middle East and North Africa

15 AUGUST 2021 • By Aomar Boum
Why COMIX? An Emerging Medium of Writing the Middle East and North Africa
Latest Reviews

Rebellion Resurrected: The Will of Youth Against History

15 AUGUST 2021 • By George Jad Khoury
Rebellion Resurrected: The Will of Youth Against History
Latest Reviews

Women Comic Artists, from Afghanistan to Morocco

15 AUGUST 2021 • By Sherine Hamdy
Women Comic Artists, from Afghanistan to Morocco
Book Reviews

Egypt Dreams of Revolution, a Review of “Slipping”

8 AUGUST 2021 • By Farah Abdessamad
Egypt Dreams of Revolution, a Review of “Slipping”
Columns

In Flawed Democracies, White Supremacy and Ethnocentrism Flourish

1 AUGUST 2021 • By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat
In Flawed Democracies, White Supremacy and Ethnocentrism Flourish
Weekly

Heba Hayek’s Gaza Memories

1 AUGUST 2021 • By Shereen Malherbe
Heba Hayek’s Gaza Memories
Essays

Making a Film in Gaza

14 JULY 2021 • By Elana Golden
Making a Film in Gaza
Latest Reviews

Review: Open Gaza: Architectures of Hope

14 JULY 2021 • By Hadani Ditmars
Review: <em>Open Gaza: Architectures of Hope</em>
Latest Reviews

A Response to “Gaza: Mowing the Lawn” 2014-15

14 JULY 2021 • By Tony Litwinko
A Response to “Gaza: Mowing the Lawn” 2014-15
Weekly

“Hot Maroc” Satirizes Marrakesh, Moroccan Society

11 JULY 2021 • By El Habib Louai
“Hot Maroc” Satirizes Marrakesh, Moroccan Society
Weekly

The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter

4 JULY 2021 • By Maryam Zar
The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter
Book Reviews

ISIS and the Absurdity of War in the Age of Twitter

4 JULY 2021 • By Jessica Proett
ISIS and the Absurdity of War in the Age of Twitter
Weekly

A New Book on Music, Palestine-Israel & the “Three State Solution”

28 JUNE 2021 • By Mark LeVine
A New Book on Music, Palestine-Israel & the “Three State Solution”
Columns

The Diplomats’ Quarter: Wasta of the Palestinian Authority

14 JUNE 2021 • By Raja Shehadeh
The Diplomats’ Quarter: Wasta of the Palestinian Authority
Latest Reviews

Wasta on Steroids: Speculative Finance & the Housing Market

14 JUNE 2021 • By Mischa Geracoulis
Wasta on Steroids: Speculative Finance & the Housing Market
Weekly

Spare Me the Empathy Tantrum: Rafia Zakaria’s “Against White Feminism”

6 JUNE 2021 • By Myriam Gurba
Spare Me the Empathy Tantrum: Rafia Zakaria’s “Against White Feminism”
Weekly

Palestine in the World: “Palestine: A Socialist Introduction”

6 JUNE 2021 • By Jenine Abboushi
Palestine in the World: “Palestine: A Socialist Introduction”
Weekly

Arab Women and The Thousand and One Nights

30 MAY 2021 • By Malu Halasa
Arab Women and The Thousand and One Nights
Weekly

The Maps of Our Destruction: Two Novels on Syria

30 MAY 2021 • By Rana Asfour
The Maps of Our Destruction: Two Novels on Syria
Weekly

War Diary: The End of Innocence

23 MAY 2021 • By Arie Amaya-Akkermans
War Diary: The End of Innocence
Book Reviews

I was a French Muslim—Memories of an Algerian Freedom Fighter

23 MAY 2021 • By Mischa Geracoulis
<em>I was a French Muslim</em>—Memories of an Algerian Freedom Fighter
Weekly

Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt’s Roaring 20s

16 MAY 2021 • By Selma Dabbagh
Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt’s Roaring 20s
Book Reviews

The Triumph of Love and the Palestinian Revolution

16 MAY 2021 • By Fouad Mami
Art & Photography

Walls, Graffiti and Youth Culture in Egypt, Libya & Tunisia

14 MAY 2021 • By Claudia Wiens
Walls, Graffiti and Youth Culture in Egypt, Libya & Tunisia
Art

The Murals of “Education is Not a Crime”

14 MAY 2021 • By Saleem Vaillancourt
The Murals of “Education is Not a Crime”
Essays

The Wall We Can’t Tell You About

14 MAY 2021 • By Jean Lamore
The Wall We Can’t Tell You About
Weekly

Beirut Brings a Fragmented Family Together in “The Arsonists’ City”

9 MAY 2021 • By Rana Asfour
Weekly

Why Mona Eltahawy Wants to Smash the Patriarchy

2 MAY 2021 • By Hiba Moustafa
Why Mona Eltahawy Wants to Smash the Patriarchy
Weekly

In Search of Knowledge, Mazid Travels to Baghdad, Jerusalem, Cairo, Granada and Córdoba

2 MAY 2021 • By Eman Quotah
In Search of Knowledge, Mazid Travels to Baghdad, Jerusalem, Cairo, Granada and Córdoba
Book Reviews

Three North African Novels Dance Between Colonial & Postcolonial Worlds

25 APRIL 2021 • By Rana Asfour
Three North African Novels Dance Between Colonial & Postcolonial Worlds
Weekly

“I Advance in Defeat”, the Poems of Najwan Darwish

28 MARCH 2021 • By Patrick James Dunagan
“I Advance in Defeat”, the Poems of Najwan Darwish
Book Reviews

Being Jewish and Muslim Together: Remembering Our Legacy

28 MARCH 2021 • By Joyce Zonana
Being Jewish and Muslim Together: Remembering Our Legacy
TMR 7 • Truth?

The Crash, Covid-19 and Other Iranian Stories

14 MARCH 2021 • By Malu Halasa
The Crash, Covid-19 and Other Iranian Stories
TMR 7 • Truth?

Secrets, Leaks, and the Imperative of Truth and Transparency

14 MARCH 2021 • By Stephen Rohde
Secrets, Leaks, and the Imperative of Truth and Transparency
TMR 7 • Truth?

Truth or Dare? Reinterpreting Al-Harīrī’s Arab Rogue

14 MARCH 2021 • By Farah Abdessamad
Truth or Dare? Reinterpreting Al-Harīrī’s Arab Rogue
TMR 7 • Truth?

Allah and the American Dream

14 MARCH 2021 • By Rayyan Al-Shawaf
Allah and the American Dream
TMR 7 • Truth?

Poetry Against the State

14 MARCH 2021 • By Gil Anidjar
Poetry Against the State
Weekly

Faïza Guène’s Fight for French Respectability

7 MARCH 2021 • By Melissa Chemam
Faïza Guène’s Fight for French Respectability
TMR 6 • Revolutions

The Revolution Sees its Shadow 10 Years Later

14 FEBRUARY 2021 • By Mischa Geracoulis
The Revolution Sees its Shadow 10 Years Later
Book Reviews

The Polyphony of a Syrian Refugee Speaks Volumes

25 JANUARY 2021 • By Farah Abdessamad
The Polyphony of a Syrian Refugee Speaks Volumes
Book Reviews

The Howling of the Dog: Adania Shibli’s “Minor Detail”

30 DECEMBER 2020 • By Layla AlAmmar
The Howling of the Dog: Adania Shibli’s “Minor Detail”
Weekly

Cairo 1941: Excerpt from “A Land Like You”

27 DECEMBER 2020 • By TMR
Cairo 1941: Excerpt from “A Land Like You”
TMR 3 • Racism & Identity

Isabel Wilkerson on Race and Caste in the 21st Century

15 NOVEMBER 2020 • By Monique El-Faizy
Isabel Wilkerson on Race and Caste in the 21st Century
Book Reviews

An American in Istanbul Between Muslim and Christian Worlds

15 NOVEMBER 2020 • By Anne-Marie O'Connor
An American in Istanbul Between Muslim and Christian Worlds
TMR 3 • Racism & Identity

Is White Feminism the De Facto Weapon of White Supremacy?

15 NOVEMBER 2020 • By TMR
The Red and the Blue

The “Surreal Hell” That Made Tahar Ben Jelloun a Writer

15 OCTOBER 2020 • By Rana Asfour
The “Surreal Hell” That Made Tahar Ben Jelloun a Writer
The Red and the Blue

Arabs & Race in America through the Short Story Prism

15 OCTOBER 2020 • By Malu Halasa
Arabs & Race in America through the Short Story Prism
Book Reviews

Falastin, Sami Tamimi’s “Palestinian Modern”

15 OCTOBER 2020 • By N.A. Mansour
Falastin, Sami Tamimi’s “Palestinian Modern”
World Picks

World Art, Music & Zoom Beat the Pandemic Blues

28 SEPTEMBER 2020 • By Malu Halasa
World Art, Music & Zoom Beat the Pandemic Blues
Beirut

Salvaging the shipwreck of humanity in Amin Maalouf’s Adrift

15 SEPTEMBER 2020 • By Sarah AlKahly-Mills
Salvaging the shipwreck of humanity in Amin Maalouf’s <em>Adrift</em>
Book Reviews

Poetic Exploration of Illness Conveys Trauma

14 SEPTEMBER 2020 • By India Hixon Radfar
Poetic Exploration of Illness Conveys Trauma
Book Reviews

Algiers, the Black Panthers & the Revolution

1 OCTOBER 2018 • By TMR
Algiers, the Black Panthers & the Revolution

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