Two Hours That Shook the World: September 11, 2001: Causes and Consequences

by Fred Halliday

Fred Halliday examines the causes and rise of Islamic fundamentalism and how terror became an instrument of political and military conflict. Sobering and encouraging, Two Hours That Shook the World provides a reasoned approach to what the future may hold.

Genres: Nonfiction, International Relations

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Simon Frederick Peter Halliday, FBA (22 February 1946 in Dublin, Ireland – 26 April 2010 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) was an Irish writer and academic specialising in International Relations and the Middle East, with particular reference to the Cold War, Iran, and the Arabian peninsula.

Reviews

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to read. Important to read. I would not consider this a "9/11 book" as it deals very little with the event itself. Nonetheless, it covers so many swirling factors that are often not thought of in separate, unemotional pieces. Any tragedy like this, especially a national one, will be hard for anyone who lived through it to think about it rationally. Because the author is Irish, he approaches the subject with a less clouded view. I learned much and would encourage any American to read this with a considering mind.

[Julian Pritchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much of this book actually has to do with 9/11 or the nascent Global War on Terror but rather it is a short collection of essays about various Middle East actors like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, as well as analysis of the forces of capitalism, globalization, and political Islam in the post-Cold War era. The longest essay is titled "anti-Muslimism" and is about the oppression of Muslims in countries where they are minorities like European countries, India, and Israel. Overall, the idea that Halliday wants to stress is that there is not a single "Islam" nor is there a single "West," nor are they inherently destined to "clash," something that Islamists like Bin Laden and Western scholars like Huntington and to some extent Fukuyama claim.

The most refreshing essay in my opinion was "The Other Stereotype: America and its Critics" in which Halliday critiques those on the far left and right whose reflexive anti-Americanism distorts their thinking by leading them to support whoever they perceive to be victims of the US. He also puts Islamist terror in the context of increasing globalization and economic inequality, which lends credence to the arguments of Islamists who blame unemployment and poor living conditions solely on exploitation/dominance by the West.

Finally, and maybe surprisingly, Halliday concludes this book by opposing cultural/moral relativism, instead insisting on the importance of reason and universal values, though not claiming that the East or West has any monopoly on these.

[Eszter Pordany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a very slow read, detailed however. Certain chapters were extremely useful for my course!

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was his simplified explanation for the whole 9-11 thing for the average reader. Very interesting, but I think that he would change some of his arguments in retrospect.