The real problem of having the Americans as your ally

I’m reading Notes On A Century: Reflections Of A Middle East Historian, the memoir of the great historian Bernard Lewis. We feature this book on the Power Line bookshelf below.

Notes On A Century works at many levels. It combines page after page of insights about the Middle East with a glimpse into the life of a pathbreaking historian. Lewis continuously displays a delicious feel for anecdote and irony.

In one of my favorite anecdotes, a Turkish general says this during a dinner party celebrating Turkey’s admission to NATO: “The real problem of having the Americans as your ally is you never know when they will turn around and stab themselves in the back.”

I recommend Notes On A Century not just to those with an interest in the Middle East, but also to anyone who enjoys the company of a wise, witty, and erudite writer.

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