DREAMS AND SHADOWS The Future of the Middle East

Journalist Robin Wright has witnessed and reported on thirty years of Middle East politics and events. Her knowledge and personal contacts are woven into a substantial text that does not translate easily into an audio experience. Narrator Laural Merlington keeps her reading carefully neutral and changes her delivery style to distinguish dialogue from narrative. But Merlington's delivery doesn't quite match Wright's scholarly tone or savvy political analysis. Wright is sending a clear message about the United States' current occupation of Iraq, but Merlington doesn't deliver the message with the same force. Furthermore, the number of countries covered and sources quoted requires access to a map and to the extensive footnotes in order to make sense of the political picture Wright describes. R.F. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2008]