Kirk J. Beattie is the author of Congress and the Shaping of the Middle East, as well as two books on Egyptian politics: Egypt During the Nasser Years and Egypt During the Sadat Years. A professor at Simmons College in the Political Science and International Relations Department, Beattie specializes in comparative politics with regional expertise in the Middle East and West Europe. Beattie has taught at Harvard, Wellesley, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and the University of Michigan. He is a recipient of numerous national scholarships including a Fulbright grant, a Fulbright-Hays grant, an International Rotary Foundation Fellowship, an American Research Center in Egypt grant, and a Center for Arabic Study Abroad fellowship. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts and Wisconsin.