Scott Whitmore's Reviews > Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East

“What happened to us?” are the first words in Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East, and author Kim Ghattas does an exceptional job of answering the question. I learned so much from this highly readable book, and gained insight and perspective on the things I already knew.

The author effectively uses the stories of different people around the region to examine the origins and short- and long-term impacts of key events including the Iranian Revolution, the Lebanese Civil War, and the Arab Spring, to name just a few. Black Wave is an outstanding primer for those wanting to know more about the Middle East, and especially how today’s status came to be.