Colonial Citizens

Of the dozens and dozens of books that I've begrudgingly bought throughout undergrad, this is one of the most memorable and insightful, and one that I will definitely not be selling back for cash. A great buy!

Thompson's work was a good read, and her writing style was interesting and engaging. Her research is admirable as well as her clarity. However, too often she failed to make connections intended to formed between her ideology and research. There are a few key, general criticisms I have. The book has poor understanding of the term "subaltern", misidentifying it with social groups which are not. Ironically, she neglects to discuss one social group under the mandate totally, the Shi'a, thus, reconfirming their subaltern status. Morever, though she claims to have done so, she fails to say anything meaningful or significant about Islam whatsoever. Also, events and individuals are not often historicized enough in that background events are neglected and omitted which are key to understanding the time period.