In his new book Quicksand: America’s Pursuit of Power in the Middle East (Penguin Press), Geoffrey Wawro traces the United States’ involvement in the Middle East over the last 100 years.
Wawro, the Maj. Gen. Olinto Mark Barsanti Chair in Military History and director of the Military History Center, covers events such as the establishment of Israel, the death of Anwar Sadat, the energy crisis, the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rise of Al-Qaeda. Drawing parallels between the past and the present,  he concludes that the U.S. continues to repeat mistakes in the region.