In this thought-provoking volume, experts explore the disturbing ramifications of portrayal of the Middle East by the U.S. media; analyze the stereotypes and misconceptions that Americans have of Arabs, Iranians, and other Middle Easterners; and discuss the far-reaching political and cultural impact of the United States on the Middle East. Focusing on the U.S. media (books, magazines, newspapers, motion pictures, television) coverage and portrayal of Arabs, Palestinians, the Intifada, Middle Eastern women, Iran, Islam, Turkey, and the Persian Gulf War, the book also examines the impact of motion picture classics on young children and the perceptions of American students relative to the Middle East.

College students, educators, media professionals, policy makers, researchers, writers, and all those concerned about political communication, cross-cultural education, media effects, and international communication will find startling information about a critical topic on which very little has been written.

YAHYA R. KAMALIPOUR is Professor of Mass Communication and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Communication and Creative Arts at Purdue University Calument, Hammond, Indiana. He has published at length on media effects, broadcast education, and international communication in popular and professional journals. He is the editor, with Hamid Mowlana, of Mass Media in the Middle East: A Comprehensive Handbook (Greenwood Press, 1994).