This past semester in my USII class (which apparently went much better than I thought judging by my evaluations, which were, as I always hope them to be, very fair) I used Kinzer's book. I'd used it before in Europe classes, but with the US class, the students absolutely loved it. And it IS in fact a great book. But now, suddenly, Iran has erupted in what seems to be a wide-spread protest movement clamoring for more freedom. And there are at least 30 young folks that have a very good appreciation of the history of the region (Kinzer's first chapter is an outstanding historical survey of the past of ancient Persia, Sunni and Shi'a splits, etc.), American involvement in there - the Kermit-led coup in '53 in particular - and the complexities that led up to the 1979 Revolution. And it makes me happy to know that they can appreciate current events through the lens of the past.
Of course, this compounds my frustration that I have no present job beyond my Presidents class this summer, but that is another matter altogether.
