Ziauddin Sardar

Merryl Wyn Davies

Not just another 9/11 book, this controversial United Kingdom bestseller is for those who are trying to understand why America is a target for hate. The authors explore the global impact of America's foreign policy, corporate power, and the TV and Hollywood machine.

Why Do People Hate America?

Piero

This title is now available in a new format. Refer to Anthropology: A Graphic Guide 9781848311688.

Introducing Anthropology

Conversations on Contemporary Issues

Faces of Islam

"Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies' Why Do People Hate America? was published in July 2002 and soon became a word-of-mouth bestseller. Will America Change? brings the story right up to date. This book shows how the world's lone hyperpower developed its doctrine of pre-emptive response that led to the disasters of Afghanistan and Iraq. It explores how, from Vietnam to the end of the Cold War to Iraq, the US has embraced militarism and used its power to make the world secure for American interests. Each year, the problem of America has become more acute, more invasive and more resented around the world." "America, the authors argue, needs to recognise what it has become - not only a military behemoth but a pervasive, pernicious cultural force for homogenisation and denial of local differences around the globe."--BOOK JACKET.

Will America Change?

Ashis Nandy

A book about the convenient myopia which, through the ages, has allowed - and continues to allow - the West to see other peoples as subjects, infidels, even savages. The authors begin by setting Columbus' travels in context and revealing the extent to which his voyage of discovery mirrored the colonial anxieties of the times. This is an account of Eurocentricity in its most potent forms - from the medieval view of demons and demigods, to the colonial perception that those who were not like us were somehow less than human, existing only to be used like any other commodity.

A Manifesto on Western Racism

Barbaric Others

Looking beyond the common perceptions and polemical debates.

The No-Nonsense Guide to Islam

Even before 11 September 2001, Muslims were generally viewed in the West as enemies of "freedom" and "progress". Yet there is far more to Islam than the stereotypical Occidental view. This No-Nonsense Guide looks at how Islam, a complex faith and civilization, can reconcile itself with the twenty-first century. Critically minded Muslims everywhere are rethinking and reformulating Islam as a contemporary moral and ethical force. Merryl Wyn Davies and Zia Sardar explain the Islamic worldview, examining the Qur'an and Islamic law (sharia), Islam in history, Islam's relationship with the West and its contemporary nature. They analyse the struggle within the faith for a more humane and holistic interpretation of their religion; examine the issues surrounding women, democracy, and economic development; and suggest how we can all move forward after 9/11.

The No-nonsense Guide to Islam

A hard-hitting sequel and companion piece to the international bestseller Why Do People Hate America?. The book begins its examination of the state of American society with the California Gubernatorial Election of 2003. The victory of Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger in that election is more than the triumph of a populist candidate—it is a telling indicator of how an uninformed people has been misled by a political illusion. This is fantasy politics, and it is set to unfold across the US in the future. It is, therefore, a vital concern for people everywhere. How American democracy is understood and enacted in the United States is an essential guide to how its nation-building efforts abroad operate. The authors argue that the failures of American democracy at home—its increasing reliance on fantasy versions of reality—are blueprints for its failures overseas. What America cannot resolve at home, as much as how it constructs and operates its foreign policy, makes the world a more unstable and dangerous place for everyone. The authors diagnose these failures as “Schwar-zenegger’s Laws.” These laws allow us to understand how Hollywood’s global superstar was elected to office, not as a reaction against political failure but as the pure expression of an enduring and disturbing thread of fantasy within American politics, culture and society. As a political candidate, Schwarzenegger did not need to create a conventional political platform—he had only to present himself, for he was already an oven-ready candidate, an established persona with a set of values defined by his films which provided him with a definable policy stance in the public imagination. With America now the lone hyperpower, “Schwarzenegger’s Laws” affect every citizen of every country.

Myths, Movies, and Global Power

American Terminator

Propelled by its mythology, America pursues its dream relentlessly. Here, the authors expose the dark side of that fantasy: death, suffering, perpetual fear, an increasing divide between rich and poor, a squandering of the human future, and the relentless building of more and more pretexts for future wars.

American Dream, Global Nightmare

Lessons from the Rushdie Affair

Distorted Imagination

The controversial bestseller that caused huge waves in the UK! The Independent calls it "required reading." Noam Chomsky says it "contains valuable information that we should know, over here, for our own good, and the world’s." We call it our biggest book so far and will be backing it from day one with guaranteed co-op spending, a national publicity and review blitz, talk radio bookings, various retail sales aids including postcards, and of course the usual full court press on the Web and via email.This is NOT just another 9/11 book: it is the book for those of us trying to understand why America—and Americans—are targets for hate. Many people do hate America, in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, as well as in the Middle East. Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies explore the global impact of America’s foreign policy and its corporate and cultural power, placing this unprecedented dominance in the context of America’s own perception of itself. In doing so, they consider TV and the Hollywood machine as a mirror which reflects both the American Dream and the American Nightmare. Their analysis provides an important contribution to a debate which needs to be addressed by people of all nations, cultures, religions and political persuasions—and especially by Americans.Described by The Times Higher Education Supplement as "packed with tightly argued points," the book is carefully researched and built to withstand the inevitable criticism that will be aimed at it. A book that some reviewers will love to hate and others will praise for its insights, it’s guaranteed to cause a stir.

Merryl Wyn Davies

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