The Devil We Know

dealing with the new Iranian superpower

Robert Baer

'Timely and provocative ... adds an important perspective to a crucial international debate.'

(Publishers Weekly)

'This extraordinary book is a conceptual bunker-buster — like a cluster bomb, it rips open and forces its readers to confront the geo-political and ideological realities of the post-9/11 Middle East.'

Bruce Harding (New Zealand International Review)

'The most important and original book on the Middle East to appear in many years. Baer’s subject is the growing power of Iran; his goal is ending the pattern of American failure; his message is that we’ve been backing the wrong horse.'

Thomas Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Man Who Kept the Secrets and Intelligence Wars

Former CIA operative Robert Baer exposes here for the first time the true extent of Iran’s tightening grip on the Middle East and the world’s energy corridor, the Persian Gulf, revealing that the Shia nation has effectively checkmated the United States and other leading countries in a new global power play.

Imagine an Iran that controls the world’s oil, that has brought other countries in the Middle East under its flag, that uses its terrorist groups and military forces to undermine any country in the region that resists it. As Baer shows, this blood-chilling future is virtually assured unless Washington wakes up, acknowledges Iran’s status, and learns to deal with Iran’s rulers at least partly on their terms.

'An important text studded with keen insights into a nation about which America remains dangerously misinformed.'

(Kirkus Reviews)

'A masterpiece ... Baer's brilliant analysis of Sunni versus Shia, Arab versus Iranian, and Christian versus Muslim is shocking, revealing, and provocative. Baer lifts the veil of Western media hype and challenges the simplistic solutions offered by "experts" whose vision is blurred by the past. Through his knowledge, long-term experience, and ability to assess the changing landscape of this vital region, he not only shatters the foundations of conventional thinking, but also offers a practicable blueprint for turning things around.'

John Perkins, author of the New York Times bestseller Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

'Bob Baer has once again peered into the future and has brought back uncomfortable truths that won't satisfy any partisan. But his book does force us to do something that, unfortunately, doesn't come naturally to the chattering classes. Think.'

James Risen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration

'Australian policy on the Middle East seems invariably to echo that of the US, so Baer's informed perspective should be essential reading for Australian foreign policy works and anyone else interested in the geopolitics of our generation.'

(Canberra Times)

Robert Baer

Bob_baer

Robert Baer is the author of two New York Times bestsellers: Sleeping with the Devil, about the Saudi royal family and its relationship with the United States; and See No Evil, which recounts Baer’s years as a top CIA operative. See No Evil was the basis for the acclaimed film Syriana, which earned George Clooney an Oscar for his portrayal of Baer. Baer writes regularly for Time.com and has contributed to Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. He is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Middle East.

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Format: Pb
Extent: 288pp
Size: 234mm x 153mm
ISBN (13): 9781921372551
RRP: $32.95
Pub date: February 2009

Rights held:

ANZ, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia