Friedman is certainly qualified to write this book. He becomes interested in the Middle East when he is a child and spends his high school summers working on a kibbutz south of Haifa. He studies Arabic in Cairo as an undergrad and spends a semester studying in Israel. He then takes a masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford. While in graduate school, he writes several articles that are published in various newspapers. This is enough to help land him a job with United Press International when he finishes his studies. After a few months, he is offered a job as UPI's Beirut correspondent. He jumps at the chance, even though he will be a Jewish correspondent in Lebanon. After two year, he goes to work for The New York Times and after several.....
