“Outsiders at Home” is a research-driven book from Nazita Lajevardi, J.D., PhD., a political scientist, attorney, and professor. She studies race and ethnic politics, political behavior, voting rights, and immigration, particularly as it relates to U.S. Muslims.

From the outset, “Outsiders” explains the factors that make it difficult to analyze Muslim Americans as a group, and why Lajevardi’s is one of the first books of its kind: Muslim Americans’ racial diversity as a collective, aversion to being surveyed due to historic mistreatment and forced surveillance, disappearing into U.S. Census data in some cases due to being told to select “white,” the Census not collecting data on religious affiliation, among others.Through the book, Lajevardi compiles the research to date, including her own, and constructs new studies to learn about discrimination against U.S. Muslims, how attitudes towards the group have changed over time, how those attitudes impact their view of themselves, and how media coverage since 2001 changes perceptions.

This book is so well-researched. Lajevardi is clearly a thought leader in this space. It opened my eyes to questions that I did not even realize we should be asking about how Muslim Americans are perceived in this country and the challenges that they face, as a complex, panethnic group that the mainstream discourse has lumped together. It makes sense in hindsight, but the beauty of this book is how clear Lajevardi makes it.

I will say, though, that from my layperson’s (non-sociologist’s) perspective, it was a bit dry at times. Her research methods were spelled out in great detail in each chapter—critical for validating her work and promoting future research, but maybe not the kind of read I was looking for. I found myself skimming those parts. “Outsiders” has definitely piqued my interest, but it was not as satisfying a read as I’d hoped it would be.

Overall: A first-of-its-kind look into the questions we should be asking about U.S. Muslims and Islamophobia in America. ★★★.

Packed with information, read like an expanded form of a dissertation. Would be great for citing in papers and research

A broad overview of trends in resentment and general attitudes towards Muslim Americans by the general US public, as found across a number of different studies. Some of the findings were completely in-line with what I imagine will be most people's general assumptions, but others were a little surprising, especially with regard to studies that attempted to account for the differences stemming from racial and ethnic elements. Being personally interested in the interaction of Islamophobia, xenophobia, and the racialization factor, I particularly appreciated those elements.

Probably slightly too statistics-heavy to cross-over to a wide popular audience, but still very clearly written so certainly accessible to non-academics.

A few of the tables had formatting issues, but as I read an eARC from NetGalley, I assume that will be remedied for the print run.

If one is not Muslim, does one still feel the Islamophobia? Yes of course. This really good book could bring a scientific approach to understanding of these question.Highly recommend to anyone who would like to get a close look at the Muslim population in US and the world, and to understand such a highly diverse-racial population' struggle on discrimination.

The book contains a lot of data, from swing states voters to the Muslim subgroups, however, the style of writing is very scientific, and it could make readers who are searching for a simple read feel boring and too much. [Figures and Charts are hard to read comparing with other books, type face too small].

A wonderful source for research, academia.

I feel that this book is incredibly timely and important. It is not an easy read. It’s incredibly academic in nature. The topic has been thoroughly researched and it shows. You will learn so much. It’s not a casual read. But everyone should read it!

A very interesting book with important data. I think it is a very difficult topic to address, with so many variables that come into play. And from the perspective of someone who is not American, it’s fascinating to know about this subject. If you are interested in political and analytical books, you’ll surely enjoy this. And although there is a lot of information, the reading is quite pleasant.