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A World of Trouble by Patrick Tyler
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A World of Trouble

The White House and the Middle East---from the Cold War to the War on Terror

$29.91

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Narrator Michael Prichard

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Length 27 hours 8 minutes
Language English
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The Middle East is the beginning and the end of U.S. foreign policy: events there influence our alliances, make or break presidencies, govern the price of oil, and draw us into war. But it was not always so—and as Patrick Tyler shows in this thrilling chronicle of American misadventures in the region, the story of American presidents' dealings there is one of mixed motives, skulduggery, deceit, and outright foolishness, as well as of policymaking and diplomacy.



Tyler draws on newly opened presidential archives to dramatize the approach to the Middle East across U.S. presidencies from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush. He takes us into the Oval Office and shows how our leaders made momentous decisions; at the same time, the sweep of this narrative—from the Suez crisis to the Iran hostage crisis to George W. Bush's catastrophe in Iraq—lets us see the big picture as never before. Tyler tells a story of presidents being drawn into the affairs of the region against their will, being kept in the dark by local potentates, being led astray by grasping subordinates, and making decisions about the internal affairs of countries they hardly understand. Above all, he shows how each president has managed to undo the policies of his predecessor, often fomenting both anger against America on the streets of the region and confusion at home.



A World of Trouble is the Middle East book we need now: free of cant and ideology, and rich in insight about the very human challenges a new president will face as he tries to restore America's standing in the region.

Patrick Tyler has reported extensively from both the Middle East and Washington for the Washington Post and the New York Times, where he is currently chief correspondent. He has also served as Moscow bureau chief for the New York Times. Tyler is the author of Running Critical and A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China, which won the Lionel Gelber Prize. A Texan, Tyler lives in Washington, D.C.

Michael Prichard has played several thousand characters during his career. While he has been seen performing over one hundred of them in theater and film, Michael is primarily heard, having recorded well over five hundred full-length books. During his career as a one-man repertory company, he has recorded many series with running characters-including the complete Travis McGee adventures by John D. MacDonald and the complete Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout-as well as series by such masters as Mark Twain, John Cheever, and John Updike. His numerous awards and accolades include an Audie Award for Tears in the Darkness by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman and several AudioFile Earphones Awards, including for At All Costs by Sam Moses and In Nixon's Web by L. Patrick Gray III. Named a Top Ten Golden Voice by SmartMoney magazine, he holds an M.F.A. in theater from the University of Southern California. Michael appears regularly on the professional stage, including as a member of Ray Bradbury's Pandemonium Theatre Company, performing such great roles as Captain Beatty in Fahrenheit 451, which became the second-longest-running production in the Los Angeles area. Bradbury himself dubbed Michael "the finest Beatty in history."

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Reviews

"[Narrator Michael Prichard's] ability to turn laborious historical narrative into nuanced, comfortable sentences makes the story easy to follow and remember." ---AudioFile Expand reviews
Celebrate indie bookstores with our limited-time sale! Shop the sale