A fascinating entry point for those who feel woefully ignorant of the historic and cultural forces driving the conflict in the Middle East. The book begins with a strong analysis of the political deadlock of civil war in Lebanon and moves deftly to the deadlock not so civil peace in Israel. Friedman's book is full of telling quotations that draws the reader through the bewildering maze of the Middle East political psyche. Although he makes it clear that the path out of this maze is perilous and uncertain, in daring to trace a map Friedman, in spite of his self-affirmed pessimism, offers Israelis, Arabs, and Americans hope for escape from the tangle of bitter tribal feuds into which modernization has thrust the three often unwillingly. This book is a masterpiece of political nonfiction.