Hating America: A History

Why Do They Hate Us? “The US Has Been Hated Neither Solely because of its Nature Nor Due To Its Deeds” Claim Authors of Provocative New Book.

Widespread hatred for the United States seems to be stronger now than ever before. In the wake of our response to the 9/11 attacks and our invasion of Iraq, even our oldest allies seem ready, or at least wanting, to turn their backs on the United States.

Hating America: A History
By Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin
ISBN: 0195167732 • Aug 2004
HB $29.95

To order:
Oxford Press
Calls in the US: 800-451-7556.
Fax your order: 919-677-1303.

Some say our democracy, liberty, and economy provoke hatred, while others say our policies have the same effect. Both responses, argue Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin in Hating America: A History (August 2004) fail to explain why anti-Americanism has been a pervasive and persistent force since before the founding of the United States.

In the spirit of Paul Berman’s Terror and Liberalism, the Rubins, already known for their encyclopedic knowledge of the Middle East, follow the thread of an idea through its many sources back to its origin. What they find is much more complex, troubling, and fascinating, than the current myopic views of the sources of anti-Americanism and we are shown how the present day view of the United States as the “Great Satan” or juggernaut with imperialist ambitions has seamlessly incorporated elements from the previous forms of anti-Americanism.

With this powerful work, the Rubins trace the paradox that is America, a country that is both the most reviled and most envied land on earth. In the end, they demonstrate, anti-Americanism has often been a visceral response to the very idea— as well as both the ideals and policies— of America itself, its aggressive innovation, its self-confidence, and the challenge it poses to alternative ideologies.

About the Authors

Barry Rubin is Director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the journal Middle East Review of International Affairs, Barry Rubin is the author and editor of numerous books, most recently The Tragedy of the Middle East.

Judith Colp Rubin is a veteran correspondent for several newspapers and coeditor, with Barry Rubin, of Anti-American Terrorism and the Middle East.