Reading this book in 2012, more than ten years after the events that constitute the bulk of its subject matter, I was aware that for myself the intensity of the anger and frustration sparked by 9/11 had dulled somewhat, the sharp glint of necessity to stamp out the perpetrators and confront the religious zealousness that had motivated them had been reshuffled backwards in our list of priorities as a nation and culture. However, it was not hard to recall how powerful those emotions were, and how irresistibly they led us to act in some ways that were constructive, and many that were destructive. Friedman's attitudes and political perspectives (at least in the context of the Mideast Crisis) dovetail neatly with my own, so it was gratifying to understand that a man of such obvious facility and expertise thought the same way I do, and that people like him are active and integral to the process in ways that are obviously beyond my means. Friedman, as he reveals himself in this book, is ceaselessly pragmatic, at times despondent, but he is compelled to keep working for a solution.

It is a compilation of articles and essays, so the narrative thread, such as it is, is hesitant, uneven, and occasionally contradictory. However, his summary section (the Diary) is of crucial value. His insights are keen, his writing style is smooth, personal without being maudlin or melodramatic. No one has the combination of intellectual focus, drive, and resources that Tom Friedman has when it comes to the Mideast Problem.