About the Author

Linda Blandford is an author, journalist and presenter for BBC television and Radio 4 (including 'Start the Week' and 'Pick of the Week'). She has written for papers including The New York Times, The Guardian and The Sunday Times as a columnist and international reporter, and has taught courses in Politics, Philosophy and History, and International Relations and the Middle East at the University of London. Her books include Oil Sheikhs: in Quest of the New Arab (Weidenfeld and Nicholson) and America on Five Valium a Day (Methuen). She lives in London. Peter Davidson has taught courses in Philosophy and History at the University of London and has written and directed documentaries on WWII and related subjects for the History Channel. H lives in London.