'Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution few international relationships are more fraught with obstacles to mutual understanding than the Iranian-American one. While, Penelope Kinch frames her analysis within constructivism, she solidly grounds political science theory in history, including the use of new oral and archival sources. Consequently, her important analysis, clearly expressed, invites a broad readership.' - Gene R. Garthwaite, Professor Emeritus of History, Dartmouth College, 'The literature on foreign policy analysis of Iran and the United States, and within that detailed scrutiny of IRI-USA relations has been a major field of research since before the 1979 revolution. But US interventions in the region since 9/11 has added a new urgency to analysis of US-Iran relations in a much less predictable regional environment. Indeed, given the positive developments on the nuclear front, and the commensurate negative ones following the deepening regional crises which impact the interests of both Iran and the United States, interest in the conduct of these two major MENA regional actors will remain high. To understand their behaviour and their policies going forward one needs a strong analytical rudder, one which can explain the drivers of these states' policies as well as their motives, and I think we have that in Kinch's new innovative study of US-Iran relations through the lens of the interaction between identity and policy.' - Anoush Ehteshami, Nasser al-Sabah Professor of International Relations, Durham University