The Twilight War—a review

July 23rd, 2012 by J.ScottShipman

At 572 pages, the fast paced narrative is a must read for anyone wanting insight into the origins and issues that remain in the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict. The Twilight War is exhaustively sourced.  Crist says in the Notes his book was twenty-years in the making and it shows. Further, this book comes with excellent maps, so keeping up with the geography is made easier.

Tom Ricks said, “this is the foreign policy book of the year, perhaps many years,” and Ricks may be right. The Twilight War is an important and timely book on a vital topic, and comes with my strongest recommendation.

Postscript:

A copy of The Twilight War was provided to this reviewer by the publisher.

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Posted in 20th century, 21st century, 9/11, academia, ahmadinejad, al qaida, America, Apocalyptic, Arab Spring, barack obama, diplomacy, diplomatic history, elections, Failed State, foreign policy, Hamas, hezbollah, history, international law, iran, iraq, J. Scott Shipman, military, military history, military intelligence, national security, natiuon-building, navy, politics, propaganda, recommended reading, security, state building, state department, state terrorism, Tactics, terrorism, Uncategorized, war | 6 comments

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  1. Madhu:

    July 24th, 2012 at 3:21 am

    I think I’ve lost my original comment? To repeat: the NYT has a nice review of this book. Your review makes it seem that much more interesting, as well.

  2. zen:

    July 24th, 2012 at 4:14 am

    Nothing from you in the spam filter, Doc

  3. zen:

    July 24th, 2012 at 4:21 am

    This looks to be a must read book – excellent review Scott!
    .
    I once had an online exchange with a retired CIA agent who had been at the embassy in Teheran and he roundly cursed out Kissinger, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Brzezinski, Vance and the State Department for kowtowing to the Shah’s insistence that the CIA be restricted to a mere liason role with SAVAK. According to him, the CIA was forbidden even from recruiting Iranian exiles in Europe as sources which left them blind to Khomeini 

  4. J. Scott Shipman:

    July 24th, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    Hi Madhu & Zen,
    .
    If I had a complaint about this book, it would be the treatment of the Bush administration. I’m no fan of Bush, but knowing his motives, or the motives of many of his policy makers can be difficult—even with access to many of the principles. A few folks seemed to be settling a score; politics never sleeps. 

  5. Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours:

    July 29th, 2012 at 12:57 am

    Thanks for taking the time to read and review this book for the tour.

  6. J. Scott Shipman:

    July 29th, 2012 at 1:00 am

    Hi Heather,
    .
    Many thanks! Hope our modest effort results in sales of this important book.