This book is so poorly researched that it cannot be considered academically useful. It is also clearly out-of-touch with the reality of Arab culture, appealing to popular prejudice and sensationalism more than cited sources, let alone interviews with real Arabs about the conclusions drawn.

When the author does cite sources, which he often does, his own psychoanalysis weighs much more heavily on the conclusions he draws than any researched factoid that he happens to mention.

For example, he makes a big deal out of an obscure reference which suggests that Arabs fondle the genitals of their male babies. Though the source refers to a particular region, he says that we can safely assume that it is practiced everywhere. He then goes on to describe how this practice is responsible for all the misogyny and sexual repression in Arab society.

In reality, parents in many cultures fondle their babies' genitals, and see nothing wrong with it, although it is frowned upon in American culture. It clearly does not have the same effects in these other cultures that Patai would have us believe it has on Arabs. This is just one example, though, of citing a source, expanding it to include the whole Arab world, and then drawing far-reaching conclusions based on the author's version of Freudian psychoanalysis. This kind of thing occurs repeatedly in this book.

The book is very unkind to Arabs, and is written in a way that attempts to mask gross sensationalism under a veneer of intellectual inquiry. It serves to confirm deep-seated prejudices that Westerners have against Arabs, and Muslims in general.

The book is like the Da Vinci Code, in that it is presented as well-researched, and contains enough semblance of truth to overcome the reader's initial suspicion, but then continues to present pure fantasy under the guise of fact. The only difference is that Dan Brown admits that the Da Vinci Code is fiction.

I do not think anybody should read this book. It does not provide useful information, and it is grossly misleading. It will be most enjoyed by those prejudiced against Arabs, because it will confirm their most vicious biases, and by those who like to read academic-sounding things about sex. This book has tremendous potential to severely damage constructive relations between the West and both Arabs and Islam.

Get some outside scholarly opinions before considering this book. A simple Wikipedia search will suffice (be sure to read the entry's references). The book's popularity and revival mostly comes from neoconservatives and, in turn, the Pentagon's use of the book as a basis for understanding the Arab culture and, subsequently, creating interrogation/torture techniques to be used on Arabs. From other scholars' views, this book seems by no means to be a work of which to base notions upon the Arab culture. "The book is described as simplistic, reductionist, stereotyping, generic, essentialist, outdated, superseded, flawed, unscientific and even intellectually dishonest by other scholars." It saddens me that this book is given to our men and women in the armed forces. We can do better, and so can you: do the research.

You've got to be kidding: an East European Jewish writer opining about the Arab Mind and Americans. I feel the urge to write a tome about the Chinese mind as it applies to South Koreans.

You've got to be kidding: an East European Jewish writer opining about the Arab Mind and Americans. I feel the urge to write a tome about the Chinese mind as it applies to South Koreans.

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. Written over 30 years ago, it still rings true in so many aspects, and definitely helps explain the cultural clashes that still occur and slow down the process of coexisting.

Raphael Patai's love of Arabia and all things Arabic is very obvious throughout his work. Even so, Patai managed to be objective and to portray the good and the bad in Arab culture. Too many authors take one road or the other, allowing personal feelings and thoughts to encroach on the necessary objectivity. Patai, like a true sociologist, presents how a culture was formed, in language easily understandable to the Western mind.

Sometimes dry and drawn out, "The Arab Mind" should nonetheless be mandatory reading for all government workers in the Middle East, as it is truly an indispensible guide through a culture that has been around longer than our own.

Although the book was written well before 9/11, it explains why and how it came to happen. If the current administration had read this, most of the blunders of the Iraq war could have been avoided. This is a must read for anyone wanting to comprehend Arab thinking. It would be 5 star if it was shorter.

I heard about the book in Juan Cole's web site. One of my co-workers had a copy so I borrowed it to read. Lets put it this way, I've bought two dozen of them to give to the Iraqis I work with and sold half of them to the other Coalition members I work with.

The Iraqis have found it enlightening, as did I. Applying it to day-to-day interactions will be the test. However, from my 18 months here, the author is right on.

As a cultural instructor, I use this book to teach my students how Arabs think. I am an Arab from Iraq myself, and I am impressed by Patai understanding of the Arab mind.

An excellent description of the complexities and constraints within Arab culture. The book provides a basis for understanding the problems that exist as the world gets smaller. Thank God for the inquisitiveness encouraged by western culture.