Reddit reviews The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth

Quicksand, by Geoffry Wawro

Power, Faith, and Fantasy by Michael Oren

The Coming Anarchy by Robert Kaplan

The Revenge of Geography by Robert Kaplan

The Shia Revival by Vali Nasr (although to be honest I found this one a little dull)

Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Little America by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Soldiers of God by Robert Kaplan

Sleeping with the Devil by Baer

Dirty Wars by Jeremey Scahill

Ghost Wars by Steve Coll

Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile

The Way of the Knife by Mark Mazzetti

Eastward to Tartary by Robert Kaplan (I actually haven't read this one yet but it's definitely on my to do list and I'm a huge fan of Kaplan's writing, observation, and analysis.)

The Ends of the Earth by Robert Kaplan

This is a partial list of some books I've read in the past couple of years. I put stars next to the ones that I think are the really really excellent ones. Some of them aren't entirely about the Middle East but the concepts in them are really important if you want to understand the region. I hope you look through the list and at the very least look at some of the books that Amazon recommends to go along with these books.

Oh, you should also check out this essay. I like to think it's decent reading if you want to understand what motivated Bin Laden and the context surrounding his life.

If you manage to read just a few of these, and also keep up with the news (I recommend a subscription to the Economist and to the New York Times) you will be a phenomenally well educated person about the Middle East.

What most reminded me of Watch Dogs was the ability of Stuxnet to listen in on cell phone calls using Bluetooth technology. The article goes into more detail, but you forget how connected everything has become.

Thanks for the references. A book on the CIA I plan to read soon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-Knife-Secret-Earth/dp/1594204802