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Excellent Kaplan, and equally relevant and insightful to when it was first published in 1993. This book focuses more on the important people (diplomats, FSOs, ambassadors, educators, missionaries, itinerants) involved in the region over the last century plus, and a little less on his astute geopolitical thinking. Though, obviously, people to a great extent create the geopolitics. It's worth remembering that, essentially, all the Arab nations were created by Western powers for western purposes. I'd venture to say that the Arabists of today are intelligence and data collectors with little knowledge or concern for the history and cultures of the region.
He covers important periods, from American missionary efforts which helped to improve education and healthcare (while at the same time also planted seeds of nationalism) through America's coddling of Saddam Hussein during his worst atrocities. He also takes readers through the transformation of America's relationship with Israel. He could have spent a page explaining Semitism/anti-Semitism in a little detail - it's true definition is different from the one-dimensional (anti-Jewish) meaning that it now conveys. But, this is a minor point and readers of his books are likely to read more on subjects that he writes about.
Still, in the end, the book's focus is on the people, their families and the interconnectedness of this elitist group. Many had a true appreciation and respect for the culture, art and language. Some were romanticists, some were pragmatists. Many also were prescient enough to see the problems with creating artificial nations.
What a incredible time it must have been for those involved.
This stands alongside Balkan Ghosts, To the Ends of the Earth and Monsoon as one of his finest works.