UNCLASSIFIED: CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM

"Patai's book is clearly the product of a profound knowledge of Arab civilization. The book is well organized and, for a scholarly study, especially interestingly and elegantly written. The author does a masterful job of integrating his knowledge of the many facets of the culture, such as the language, the arts and literature, and child-rearing practices, and then delineating the ways that these cultural variables influence personality development. In this respect, it is appropriate to compare Patai's book with Sania Hamady's The Temperament and Character o f the Arabs, published in 1960, since the objective of both authors was the same-the delineation of Arab national character. While Hamady and Patai reach many of the same conclusions about the Arabs, Patai's analysis and explanation of the "why" of their behavior places his study on a considerably higher analytical plane than that of Hamady. The specialist on the Arabs may not discover anything startlingly new about Arab character or world view in Patai's book, but he will probably acquire a better appreciation of the cultural and psychological wellsprings of Arab behavior. It is in this latter respect that The Arab Mind is an important contribution to the scholarly literature on the Arabs." (thanks Mohamed)