An “absorbing, breezy, and—ultimately—hopeful” (Ken Jennings) guide to world conflicts, from the large and important to the completely absurd.

“A handy history of violence that is at once surprising, fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly not totally depressing.”—John Hodgeman, author of The Areas of My Expertise and former correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

The daily news gives you events but rarely context. So what do al-Qaeda, North Korea, and Iran really want? Which faction is which in Iraq and who’s arming whom? What’s the deal with Somalia, Darfur, and Kashmir? Israel and Palestine, Hamas and Hezbollah?

Who Hates Whom, a seriously amusing look at global humanity—and the lack thereof—presents global chaos made simple. Topics include:

• Which countries are fighting over an uninhabitable glacier with no real strategic value—at an annual cost of half a billion dollars?

• Which underreported war has been the deadliest since World War II—worse even than Vietnam—with a continuing aftermath worse than most current conflicts combined?

• Which royal family members were respected as gods—until the crown prince machine-gunned the king and queen?

• Which country’s high school students think the Nazis had a “good side”? Which nation’s readers recently put Mein Kampf on the bestseller list? And which other country watches itself with four million security cameras? (Hint: All three are U.S. allies.)

Detailed with over fifty original maps, photographs, and illustrations, Who Hates Whom summarizes more than thirty global hotspots with concise essays, eye-catching diagrams, and (where possible) glimmers of kindness and hope.