Ecletic Reader

This was a very useful and relevant read. The message it conveys should provide the US with some insight as to why its policies in the Middle East may be backfiring while reminding nationalists that independence is merely the first step to building a nation, not the end goal. The discussion on national culture and mental disorders were very interesting in my view. My rating is lower than it might otherwise be for two reasons. The first is not the author's fault, though the second is. Prior to reading "The Wretched of the Earth," I had heard very positive reviews from academic and progressive texts. Fanon's book was invariably described as revolutionary or dangerous to the ruling class. This may have raised my expectations too much when I picked this one up. The first three chapters of the book, while interesting, were not revolutionary. I found myself nodding along to each point because I had previously read these conclusions by other authors (both before and after Fanon's time) or come to some of the same conclusions on my own. The second issue was the length of Fanon's arguments. His section on violence was overly repetitive and could have been handled in about half the page length without any loss of force. It seemed that the text was more concerned with the appearance of importance and superiority than with filling his text with substantive ideas. I would still recommend this to anyone interested in international relations or national politics, though it would not be my first recommendation.