This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/world/middleeast/obituary-david-fromkin-dead-middle-east-author.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
David Fromkin, Professor and Author on Mideast, Dies at 84 David Fromkin, Professor and Author on Mideast, Dies at 84
(3 days later)
David Fromkin, a nonacademic historian whose definitive book on the Middle East warned the West against nation-building by partitioning antagonistic religious groups behind arbitrary boundaries, died on Sunday in Manhattan. He was 84. David Fromkin, a nonacademic historian whose definitive book on the Middle East warned the West against nation-building by partitioning antagonistic religious groups behind arbitrary boundaries, died on June 11 in Manhattan. He was 84.
The cause was heart failure, his nephew Daniel Soyer said.The cause was heart failure, his nephew Daniel Soyer said.
Professor Fromkin, a lawyer and investor, became a published author only in his 40s and a professor in his 60s.Professor Fromkin, a lawyer and investor, became a published author only in his 40s and a professor in his 60s.
His seminal book on the Middle East, “A Peace to End All Peace” (1989), traced the roots of conflict in the region to the creation of unsustainable nations there through artificial mapmaking by European diplomats in the early 1920s, after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.His seminal book on the Middle East, “A Peace to End All Peace” (1989), traced the roots of conflict in the region to the creation of unsustainable nations there through artificial mapmaking by European diplomats in the early 1920s, after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
He concluded that those self-serving cartographers had grossly underestimated the indigenous population’s enduring faith in Islam as the foundation of everyday life, politics and government, and that they had failed to account for the Middle East’s lingering resentment of Western imperialism.He concluded that those self-serving cartographers had grossly underestimated the indigenous population’s enduring faith in Islam as the foundation of everyday life, politics and government, and that they had failed to account for the Middle East’s lingering resentment of Western imperialism.
“A Middle Easterner need not be especially cynical, considering the region’s oil and strategic situation, to suspect that America is pursuing its national interests rather than disinterestedly promoting democracy and the welfare of western Asia,” Professor Fromkin wrote in 2005 in an Op-Ed article in The New York Times.“A Middle Easterner need not be especially cynical, considering the region’s oil and strategic situation, to suspect that America is pursuing its national interests rather than disinterestedly promoting democracy and the welfare of western Asia,” Professor Fromkin wrote in 2005 in an Op-Ed article in The New York Times.
“One lesson of recent history is clear, however,” he continued, directing his advice to fellow Americans. “The prospects in the Muslim world would be brighter if both the tearing down and the building up were done by Muslims rather than by us. Berliners brought down the wall; yet it was we who overthrew Iraq’s dictator, not the Iraqis.”“One lesson of recent history is clear, however,” he continued, directing his advice to fellow Americans. “The prospects in the Muslim world would be brighter if both the tearing down and the building up were done by Muslims rather than by us. Berliners brought down the wall; yet it was we who overthrew Iraq’s dictator, not the Iraqis.”
Professor Fromkin advocated other constraints on American military intervention overseas.Professor Fromkin advocated other constraints on American military intervention overseas.
“As a general rule, the United States should go to war only to defend its vital interests,” he wrote in “Kosovo Crossing: The Reality of American Intervention in the Balkans” (1999), in which he examined the conflict between American ideals and battlefield realities in the Balkans during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign to stop atrocities in Kosovo.“As a general rule, the United States should go to war only to defend its vital interests,” he wrote in “Kosovo Crossing: The Reality of American Intervention in the Balkans” (1999), in which he examined the conflict between American ideals and battlefield realities in the Balkans during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign to stop atrocities in Kosovo.
Whether or not America’s intervention was altruistic, he wrote in that book, “the Kosovo war raises the question of the extent to which America, in the world outside its borders, has the power to do good — or even whether it knows with any certainty what ‘good’ is.”Whether or not America’s intervention was altruistic, he wrote in that book, “the Kosovo war raises the question of the extent to which America, in the world outside its borders, has the power to do good — or even whether it knows with any certainty what ‘good’ is.”
He lamented in 1994 in The New York Times Magazine, “Our record of leaving honest, decent, democratic new local leaders behind after we intervene is not a good one.”He lamented in 1994 in The New York Times Magazine, “Our record of leaving honest, decent, democratic new local leaders behind after we intervene is not a good one.”
David Henry Fromkin was born on Aug. 27, 1932, in Milwaukee to Morris Fromkin, a lawyer, and the former Selma Strelsin, the sister of Albert A. Strelsin, the industrialist and arts patron.David Henry Fromkin was born on Aug. 27, 1932, in Milwaukee to Morris Fromkin, a lawyer, and the former Selma Strelsin, the sister of Albert A. Strelsin, the industrialist and arts patron.
He is survived by two sisters, Sari Fromkin Magaziner and Marcia Fromkin Prester.He is survived by two sisters, Sari Fromkin Magaziner and Marcia Fromkin Prester.
Professor Fromkin earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. He was the author of seven books, the first of which, “The Question of Government: An Inquiry Into the Breakdown of Modern Political Systems,” was published in 1975.Professor Fromkin earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. He was the author of seven books, the first of which, “The Question of Government: An Inquiry Into the Breakdown of Modern Political Systems,” was published in 1975.
In 1995, he wrote “In the Time of the Americans: F.D.R., Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur — the Generation that Changed America’s Role in the World,” in which he argued that after World War II Americans were given a rare second chance to correct the shortcomings of Woodrow Wilson’s one-world idealism. In 1995, he wrote “In the Time of the Americans: F.D.R., Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur — the Generation That Changed America’s Role in the World,” in which he argued that after World War II Americans were given a rare second chance to correct the shortcomings of Woodrow Wilson’s one-world idealism.
As Richard Reeves wrote in The New York Times Book Review, “The United Nations is Wilsonian; NATO represents the kind of big-power peace enforcement envisioned by T.R.”As Richard Reeves wrote in The New York Times Book Review, “The United Nations is Wilsonian; NATO represents the kind of big-power peace enforcement envisioned by T.R.”
Among Professor Fromkin’s other books were “Europe’s Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914?” (2004), which the journalist Avedis Hadjian, writing for CNN.com, called “a fast-paced, gripping guide through the complex set of reasons and emotions that led to the 20th century’s seminal conflict”; and “The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners” (2008).Among Professor Fromkin’s other books were “Europe’s Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914?” (2004), which the journalist Avedis Hadjian, writing for CNN.com, called “a fast-paced, gripping guide through the complex set of reasons and emotions that led to the 20th century’s seminal conflict”; and “The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners” (2008).
Professor Fromkin received the most plaudits for “A Peace to End All Peace,” which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Robert F. Worth, then a Times correspondent in Baghdad, wrote in 2005 that for journalists Mr. Fromkin’s book achieved “near-biblical status” for its sweeping colonial history of Iraq.Professor Fromkin received the most plaudits for “A Peace to End All Peace,” which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Robert F. Worth, then a Times correspondent in Baghdad, wrote in 2005 that for journalists Mr. Fromkin’s book achieved “near-biblical status” for its sweeping colonial history of Iraq.
The book ranged from the collapse of empires at the end of World War I to the artificial boundaries imposed in 1922 and their consequences. Professor Fromkin quoted an American missionary’s cautionary message to Gertrude Bell, the British Oriental secretary: “You are flying in the face of four millenniums of history if you try to draw a line around Iraq and call it a country!”The book ranged from the collapse of empires at the end of World War I to the artificial boundaries imposed in 1922 and their consequences. Professor Fromkin quoted an American missionary’s cautionary message to Gertrude Bell, the British Oriental secretary: “You are flying in the face of four millenniums of history if you try to draw a line around Iraq and call it a country!”
In 1994 Professor Fromkin, already an accomplished author, joined Boston University, where he was director of the Center for International Relations (now part of the Pardee School of Global Studies) and taught international relations, history and law. He was the founding director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Long-Range Future from 2000 to 2007.In 1994 Professor Fromkin, already an accomplished author, joined Boston University, where he was director of the Center for International Relations (now part of the Pardee School of Global Studies) and taught international relations, history and law. He was the founding director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Long-Range Future from 2000 to 2007.
“He combined the exact sensibility that our international relations program sought: rigorous scholarship combined with a nuanced sense of policy in the real world,” Adil Najam, dean of the Pardee School, said in an email on Thursday. “To us, his being a ‘nonacademic historian’ was never an issue; maybe even an asset.”“He combined the exact sensibility that our international relations program sought: rigorous scholarship combined with a nuanced sense of policy in the real world,” Adil Najam, dean of the Pardee School, said in an email on Thursday. “To us, his being a ‘nonacademic historian’ was never an issue; maybe even an asset.”
He retired as professor emeritus in 2013.He retired as professor emeritus in 2013.
To critics who thought that Professor Fromkin did not fully appreciate vital American interests of the moment, William R. Everdell, a fellow author, offered a longer view: “Like many in political science — including Machiavelli himself among its long-ago founders — he is an unapologetic practitioner of his field’s parent discipline, history.”To critics who thought that Professor Fromkin did not fully appreciate vital American interests of the moment, William R. Everdell, a fellow author, offered a longer view: “Like many in political science — including Machiavelli himself among its long-ago founders — he is an unapologetic practitioner of his field’s parent discipline, history.”
Professor Fromkin acknowledged, though, that history can be subjective.Professor Fromkin acknowledged, though, that history can be subjective.
“Life is a story that each of us tells to his or her self,” he wrote, “and it therefore is a tale told by an unreliable narrator.”“Life is a story that each of us tells to his or her self,” he wrote, “and it therefore is a tale told by an unreliable narrator.”