William R. Polk taught Middle Eastern history and politics and Arabic at Harvard until 1961, when he became a member of the Policy Planning Council of the Department of State, responsible for the Middle East and North Africa. In 1965 he resigned to become Professor of History and Founding Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago. He is the author of The Birth of America, Understanding Iraq, The United States and the Arab World and The Elusive Peace, among many other books.