As a historian interested in Shiעi communities in Arab countries, I could not help but be disappointed by the lack of social and cultural history in this study. However, this is not a negative reflection on the book. What may at first seem like a weakness to readers such as myself, who are more interested in social and cultural history, is actually a necessary part of the authors' formulation of their argument. The book is intended to be a very practical representation of the Arab Shiעi with political analysis that has immediate policy implications for the Shiעi themselves, the Arab regimes that rule over them, and the United States. As a monograph dealing with policy issues related to the Arab Shiעi, this book is very successful and is of special interest to scholars, activists, and policy-makers dealing with issues related to the Arab Shiעi.