Notes on a Century

The # 1 New York Times bestselling author of What Went Wrong? tells the story of his extraordinary life.

Following September 11th, pre-eminent Middle East historian Bernard Lewis was thrust onto the world stage as his seminal books What Went Wrong? and Crisis of Islam leapt to the #1 spots on New York Times bestseller list (at one point he commanded both the #1 hardcover and #1 paperback). His long-awaited memoir, NOTES ON A CENTURY: Reflections of a Middle East Historian (Viking; On Sale: May 14, 2012; $28.95; 384 pages with 16 b&w photo inserts; 978-0-670-02353-0; also available as an e-book), written with the help of his partner Buntzie Ellis Churchill, is his first major book since the Iraq war and a fascinating reflection on an extraordinary and controversial life.

For over half a century, he has taken strong, influential and controversial positions on contemporary politics and on the politics of academe. As NOTES ON A CENTURY reveals, he has been as much a diplomat as a scholar and has advised presidents and countless heads of states-Turkish prime ministers, Iranian statesmen, Jordanian monarchs, and Syrian dissidents. And American presidents, which has latterly made him a highly controversial figure. Lewis takes on his critics and describes how - contrary to popular fiction -- he opposed the Iraq war and he reveals his exchanges with the Bush administration outlining his far greater concerns about Iran.