Richard Engel spent a career in the Middle East as a reporter, and this book captures some of his experiences and thoughts on previous and current events.

=== The Good Stuff ===

* Unlike any number of "talking heads", Engel speaks from experience and direct observation. It gives him a believable and well grounded view of what has happened, and why things seem to go the way they do. His viewpoint of American actions and policies are decidedly critical.

* Engel is a professional writer, and it is no surprise that his work is easy to read and well written. The pages seemed to fly by.

* The Mideast is a nasty and dangerous place, and Engel has made a career of getting in the middle of it. He relates some of the scary incidents in his life, and you can't help but admire the dedication of someone willing to put his life on the line in pursuit of his craft.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===

* The author has a tendency to repeat himself. Much of the book seemed to go over the same ground, and many of the points are made multiple time.

* Perhaps it is because of his familiarity with the subject, but Engel seems to offer his personal opinions as undisputed facts without sufficient justification or logical argument.

=== Summary ===

This is a great book combining both adventure and analysis of many of the trouble spots in the Mideast. It does not contain rigorously constructed arguments, but rather relies more on experience and personal opinion to make its points.