To understand the momentous events that have occurred in the Middle East over the last two decades - including two Gulf wars, the occupation of Iraq, and the rise of terrorism - we must understand the crucial interplay of cold war superpowers there from 1945 to 1990. Khalidi presents the compelling case that U.S. and Soviet intervention in the region deeply exacerbated civil wars and provoked the breakdown of fragile democracies, and continues to this day to shape global conflict in the Middle East.