03/14/2016
Culbertson, a RAND Middle East analyst, travels through Tunisia, Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt, trying to understand the 2011 political upheavals that were "optimistically," and, she ultimately argues, inappropriately, called the Arab Spring. Shifting gender roles and the relationship between Islam and democracy are among her central concerns, as is the huge increase in the number of young people that will shape the region's future. Culbertson walks through the citadels of Amman and Carthage and the pyramids of Egypt, vividly illustrating the omnipresence of the ancient in the modern; her treatment of the Ottoman Empire's demise is particularly illuminating. She is quick to note that the Middle East is not monolithic and that the six countries had varying roles and experiences in the Arab Spring; but without a manageable focus, she writes like a travel writer with a tight deadline, seeking to concisely answer questions an academic might probe over several hundred more pages. At the end of her "journey," Culbertson articulates what might be the work's greatest drawback: "Now it was time to try to make sense of what I had learned for this book." Her conclusion is useful, if not unexpected: "Pessimistically declaring the Arab Spring a failure in 2016 would be as naive as optimistically declaring it a success in 2011." Agent: Don Fehr, Trident Media Group. (Apr.)
"A well-documented, brave, and useful overview." - Kirkus STARRED review
"[A] comprehensive and probing analysis of the Arab Spring’s impact... A book rich in invaluable information about both current conditions and possible future trends in Middle Eastern life and politics." - Booklist
"Culbertson walks through the citadels of Amman and Carthage and the pyramids of Egypt, vividly illustrating the omnipresence of the ancient in the modern; her treatment of the Ottoman Empire's demise is particularly illuminating."—Publishers Weekly
"An engaging meander that weaves history, culture, politics, and economics into a cohesive narrative....the reader comes away with a sense not only of what went wrong, but also what has gone right, along with an appreciation for the diversity of the region and its people."—The Christian Science Monitor (Best Books of April)
"Shelly Culbertson takes her readers on a post-Arab Spring political tour of six of the countries touched by the 2011 uprisings. Her interviews and observations are careful and shrewd; she knows the region and understands how systemic inertia slows the processes of political change."—Dallas Morning News
"This recommended overview of a complex set of upheavals in the Middle East explains both the causes and outcomes of the widespread unrest with clarity and a tone of affection and concern for the region."—Library Journal
"A glorious tapestry of people, history and sometimes unspoken analysis that provides the reader the raw material to draw his or her own conclusions... truly an excellent book."—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Highly readable...This first-person account...matches the professional rigor of RAND with her open eyes and heart."—Pittsburgh Quarterly
"The Fires of Spring is exceptionally well written, balanced, judicious, and insightful. It is an impressive blend of travelogue, history, and analysis that shows that the changes initiated by the Arab Spring are still working themselves out in ways that are not fully predictable, but perhaps more positive than the current scene might lead one to believe."—James Dobbins, Senior Fellow with the RAND Corporation and former Assistant Secretary of State
"Shelly Culbertson is a sensitive observer with a deep knowledge of the developments in the Middle East since the Arab Spring. Travelling through six very different countries, she unravels the similarities and differences of their predicaments, and shows that long term optimism is still possible despite the huge challenges they face. Her book is an example of what travel writing should really be, and shows that no one should despair despite the dreadful conflicts that are raging in parts of the region."—John McHugo, author of A Concise History of the Arabs and Syria: A History of the last Hundred Years
"The Fires of Spring is a wonderful, penetrating, and sympathetic look at six Middle Eastern societies rent by the turmoil of the Arab spring and deep-rooted conflict. Through interviews with a multitude of characters and travelogue of the highest order, Culbertson opens a window into the cultural dilemmas, daily hardships and political dramas playing out from Ankara to Cairo."—Linda Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of Masters of Chaos, Tell Me How This Ends and One Hundred Victories
“The Arab Spring set in motion processes of change in the Middle East that will last for decades. We can try to understand its significance through statistics and expert reports. Or we can follow the stories of individuals, trying to understand the region in the round. The Fires of Spring tells those stories across six countries. It is a compelling and enlightening read.”—Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America
"This book has captured the essence of this historic transformation the Arab world is going through. The complexities, frustrations and hopes of the period which was at first romantically called 'the Arab Spring' are vividly brought to the reader through a journey across countries with different experiences and people with varied outlooks. Shelly Culbertson has masterfully painted a picture of the current challenges facing the region, and more importantly of the promise the future might bring."—Marwan Muasher, Vice-President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan
05/15/2016
Culbertson, a journalist and analyst with long experience in the Middle East, traveled through the region between 2014 and 2015 to evaluate the impact of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. Combining extensive interviews with both leaders and ordinary citizens with expansive research, the author surveys the waves of demonstrations, riots, and political changes over six diverse countries: Tunisia, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, Qatar, and Egypt. Providing historical perspective from the breakup of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the author explains the popular anger and frustration over decades of political repression, economic stagnation, and limits on individual freedom imposed by government or tradition. As Culbertson describes the limits and disappointments among the movement activists, she also sees incremental changes, fragile steps toward democracy in Tunisia and government responsiveness in Turkey and Jordan, for example, that suggest the beginning of a revolution incorporating broader political participation and government accountability. VERDICT This recommended overview of a complex set of upheavals in the Middle East explains both the causes and outcomes of the widespread unrest with clarity and a tone of affection and concern for the region. [See Prepub Alert, 10/26/15.]—Elizabeth Hayford, formerly with Associated Coll. of the Midwest, Evanston, IL
★ 2016-01-10
A journey through the Middle East in the post-Arab Spring landscape. A journalist and RAND Corporation research manager in Qatar, American-born Culbertson (Education of Syrian Refugee Children: Managing the Crisis in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, 2015, etc.) traveled recently to six Middle East countries she believes are most indicative of the vast changes taking place in the region since the political upheavals in 2011. Tunisia was the catalyst when in January of that year, the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi ignited national unrest, and a true revolution then convulsed Egypt with the overthrow of a long-running dictator. The author's curious choice of non-Arab Turkey underscores the profound and unsettling changes in the region that mirror the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Indeed, she posits, the struggle for the formation of legitimate nation-states began then, accompanied by "a troubled story of population swaps, ethnic cleansing, iron-fisted dictators, civil wars, and popular backlash," all establishing a pattern similar to what is occurring in these countries today. After presenting an overview of observations about the region as a whole—including the emphasis on the region's diversity, the struggle to delineate Islam's role in government, balancing the modern versus the past, the emancipation of women, and the inclusion of the overwhelming youthful demographic—Culbertson takes a deep look at each country in turn and asks the people involved what the revolution achieved for them. The answers vary widely: Egypt, having slipped back into dictatorship, is the bad example, and yet Egyptian women are leading the way in demanding change; Tunisia remains the imperfect model for reconciling the secular and the religious; Iraq, beset by the Islamic State group, threatens to splinter; entrepreneurial Jordan has proven surprisingly stable despite its massive refugee crisis; and Qatar, the wealthiest of the lot, is meddlesome and interventionist. Authoritarianism continues to strangle the region and its emerging institutions, and Culbertson follows it all with aplomb. A well-documented, brave, and useful overview.
