well worth reading i read this book a few years ago and was impressed with its scope just as important i feel it portarys much of the complexity of the world in recent decades and suggests some major factors that have contributed to the shape of the post cold war world the prose is of consistent quality and to be honest the book is worth reccomending even just for its coverage of the cold war i would probably think well of a history professor that would include this book as reading for a class joe u s