It is testimony to the sad state of the study of economics in the Middle East that a work suchas The Political Economy of Middle East Peace: The Impact of Competing Trade Agendas, edited by J. W. Wright, Jr., could be produced. This collection of essays attempts to shed light on the relationship between international economic relations and the peace process. The sloppy scholarship included in this volume would be inexcusable when looking at any otherregion, but it appears to be acceptable when analyzing Middle Eastern economies. Although thisdescription is not characteristic of all of the essays in the volume, it diminishes the overall qualityof this work to such a degree that it detracts from the some of the more enlightening andimportant papers that are included. For example, Laura Drake's careful examination of“A New Middle East Order” in the first chapter lays out the potential stumblingblocks and hurdles as the process of normalization between Arab states and Israel continues.Unfortunately, the next chapter, by Wright, primarily examines the same topic but almostcompletely ignores relevant data and scholarship critical to his thesis. While some chaptersexamine key issues and analyze nuances in the political economy of the Middle East peaceprocess, this uneven and incongruous group of essays is of little value to policy-makers,academics, or students of Middle Eastern political economy.