Here is a review of Juan Cole's new book.
Addendum: Here is an interview with Cole. Here is a short book review by Publishers Weekly:
University of Michigan history professor and blogger Cole (Sacred Space and Holy War) takes aim at the Bush administration's “Islamophobic discourse,” highlighting that some of the very people who promulgated the phobia (Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld) once sang a different tune. He calls instead for evenhanded and pragmatic policy changes, not least a reckoning with the heterogeneity of the Muslim world. Yet for all his expertise, Cole fails to source some of his harshest accusations; moreover, for a scholar championing greater subtlety of thought, he too often discards nuance himself. To the extent that Cole argues against painting the Middle East with overly broad strokes, he brings a constructive addition to public discourse; his failure to be consistent is a lost opportunity.
It must kill Cole that he no longer has President Bush to kick around. His criticisms of President Obama will have to be measured and civil—that is to say, scholarly. A great many scholars (including, sadly, some of my fellow philosophers) lost their bearings during the eight years of the Bush administration. Bush Derangement Syndrome may explain it, but it doesn't justify it.
