GRAND DELUSION The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East

Author Steven Simon delivers the preface of this audiobook with a slightly crackly timbre. In it he shares his background, actions as counterterrorism director of the National Security Council during the Clinton administration, and a succinct summary of this work. Narrator Robert Petkoff takes on the rest of this detailed political history of America's involvement in the Middle East from Ronald Reagan's administration to the present. Petkoff adopts a smooth cadence for the political discourse, along with subtle shifts in tone when delivering excerpts from documents and reports. Petkoff's steady narration draws listeners into this complex political history of diplomatic efforts, military engagements, international policies, and presidential decision making. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2023]