To begin with, says Amin (economics, American U. in Cairo now American University in Beirut), the very notion of progress is peculiar to the Christian West, is not very old, and has no firm philosophical or scientific foundation. He continues to challenge the assumption that such progress, even if it did exist, is or could be selectively enjoyed by one racial group and not another. Within that context, he reviews the state of such matters as freedom, capitalism, human rights, and terrorism in Arab countries. Khurafat taqaddum wa ta'akhkhur al-'arab wa-l-hadara al-'arabiya fi mustahall al-qarn al-wahid wa-l-'ishrin was published in 2005, and is translated by David Wilmsen (Arabic, Georgetown U.). There is no index. Distributed in the US by International Publishers Marketing. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)