A historical text by Robert D. Kaplan reconstructs the 100-year history of a tight-knit American elite who worked in the Arab world as diplomats, military attaches, and intelligence agents. The work draws on interviews, memoirs, and other official and private sources to demonstrate the group's influence on American attitudes toward the Middle East. It traces their decline as the State Department transformed.
Use Cases
- Historical network analysis based on the described intermarriage and class ties among the elite.
- Textual analysis of memoirs and interviews to study diplomatic attitudes and perspectives.
- Longitudinal study of institutional change based on the described 100-year history and decline of the group.
- Content analysis of official and private sources to understand the asserted Arab point of view.
Strengths
- Covers a 100-year historical period from the early 19th century to the present.
- Draws on multiple source types including interviews, memoirs, and official documents.
Limitations
- Row count and file format are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- Robert D. Kaplan
- Collection Method
- Likely compiled from historical research using interviews, memoirs, and official/private sources.
- Time Range
- Early 19th century to present (publication date of source material unknown).
- Geography
- Arab world, United States (State Department).