This is a PHENOMENAL overview of the history of the Mid-East and what brought us to today.... It's a good read with just enough to details to tell the story without dragging on.

I highly recommend for anyone who has only heard bits and pieces of the last 100 years.

As the cover suggests, Crisis and Crossfire by Peter L. Hahn is a broad survey of U.S. involvement in West Asia since 1945. Structurally, it follows a straightforward, linear historiography from a U.S. perspective—but without particularly interesting or original analysis. This book actually feels quite dated.