This was interesting, perplexing and frustrating. It's a deeply political and personal book, but it suffers from a huge lack of introspection and, to my eyes, perspective. The story of an immigrant to the US from Lebanon. He did not initially identify with Middle East politics, but became increasingly marginalised - this seemed to be mostly due to him encountering increasing prejudice as he got older, which then found expression in a sense of injustice at the relationship between the West and the Middle East.

It's a sad tale, but the problem I have is that the kind of things he complains about just seem to be the usual idiots that people encounter, and then forget. He clearly hasn't, and worse then seems to ascribe those worst characteristics to all Americans. Beyond that, he is also horrified at the horrors perpetrated against arabs by Western powrs, but says not a word about those perpetrated by Arabs (the first gulf war being a case in point - nothing about Saddam Hussein and the Ba'athist regime for invading Kuwait).

A frustrating read, which I didn't feel worked as anything more than polemic.

To be fair, I may be misremembering some of this, but I honestly don't think the book is worth going back in order to give the benefit of the doubt. ( )

Originally published in 2007, I read the 2016 edition in 2021. Obviously the 2016 edition does not touch on the Trump years, the Muslim ban, or the general rise in white supremacy over those years.

In this graphic memoir, El Rassi discusses his childhood growing up in a very white community, largely unaware that he was "different" until middle school, when he began to be teased for being of Middle Eastern descent/Arab. When he goes to college and 9/11 happens, he begins to be more interested in--and more afraid of--protesting. He gains his American citizenship so he feels safe participating in protests. It is not an easy nor quick process, despite the fact that he speaks fluent English and was raised as an American. He discusses the people he meets there, protesting--who, he notes, are largely white and happy to tell others what they should think, how they should protest also. I found this especially interesting because I see this all the time in local groups. The virtue-signaling of talking about how woke one is, when what these people are actually doing is speaking for other populations. Let them speak for themselves!

In between telling his own experiences, he also gives bits of history: music and movies that portray Arabs in a certain way (often with no Arab actors); people who have been held for years on questionable charges due to their origin; people who have been harrassed due to Americans' general misunderstanding of what "Arab" is; an explanation of "Arab" vs "Muslim".

Very interesting, would be a great read for high schoolers (or anyone interested in learning more). History, memoir, and a good explanation of how he (El Rassi) so often doesn't feel like it fits in. ( )

Nothing stuck with me. Think it was more edutainment than entertaining, though I have to confess I barely remember it (review written a couple of months after). ( )

Toufic’s autobiography of the discrimination he faces on a daily basis is personal and unique. He uses humor and engaging illustrations to draw the reader into his painful stories. He explores the anti-Arab propaganda and stereotypes of Arab people in American media. Arab in America is a good primer for those who would like to understand more of current events and the Middle East.

Toufic El Rassi's "Arab in America" is a chronicle of his life in the U.S.A. He's of Lebanese/Egyptian ancestry but grew up in the U.S. His experiences have not, to put it lightly, been pleasant. He tried to assimilate as a young man, but anti-Arab sentiments continually pushed him away. Much of the book is a chronicle of how El Rassi feels American culture has pushed him away and denigrated his heritage. He relates stories pre- and post- 9/11 of how Arabs are portrayed in popular culture; lumping all Muslims under the inaccurate moniker of "Arav"; portrayals of Arabs as inherently anti-American and potential terrorists. He's frustrated at liberals who "speak for him" but don't quite get the source of Arab resentment. He rails against the "War on Terror" and the indiscriminate renditions, imprisonments, and deportations. El Rassi also looks at how his fellow Arabs respond to these conditions -- from attempts to assimilate even more to efforts to embrace their Arab (and Muslim) identities.

The U.S.A. depicted in this book is not a welcoming place and is certainly not the U.S.A. we'd like to think we are. I'm not sure El Rassi's entirely fair to portray this nation as such an uncharitable and intolerant place, but I think he's got legitimate grievances. The anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments are clearly visible as are the violations of civil liberties endemic in our "war on terror". Sikhs have been attacked because they "look Arab" or "look Muslim" (they're not). One of my students, himself a Sikh, brought in a poster that local Sikh businessmen were displaying in their offices and stores that said "Sikhs Love America", in an attempt to stave off misunderstandings and discrimination and (possibly) violence. Arabs and/or Muslims are in an even worse situation than the Sikhs.

"Arab in America" is an unsettling book. I'm sure some on the right would call it an at anti-American work. Indeed, the author ends the book by leaving for Lebanon and seriously thinking of not returning to the U.S.A. But why did he leave? For El Rassi, we rejected him, not the other way around. In my (admittedly limited) interactions with Arabs (and Muslims), there is not so much a sense of anti-Americanism as much as a sense of having been rejected by us. Are there genuine anti-Americans out there? Absolutely. Are there terrorists in the Arab and Muslim world? Surely. But there's also another group of people who are far more complex in their hopes, aspirations, fears, and resentments. To lump everyone together in one category is inaccurate and, to me at least, rather Un-American. ( )