If you want to read an alternative to Michael Oren's book, read this book by Abdul Latif Tibawi. American Interests in Syria, 1800-1901. Tibawi was an excellent scholar: I particularly recommend a collection of his book reviews published in a book titled Arabic and Islamic Themes. Tibawi, a Palestinian scholar, was never given the credit he deserves. Also, Ussama Makdisi's book on origins of US interests in the Middle East is forthcoming from Cornell University Press, and Betty Anderson is working on an intellectual history of the American University of Beirut.