Personally I think Obama is the smartest guy who's been in the White House for a very long time, and that there probably won't be anyone better in that job during my lifetime, so I don't agree with the tone of this piece which implicitly criticises him for his foreign policy "pivot" away from the Middle East. But it is a good read, presents both sides of the core arguments and contains some great stories.
Have you read Lanchester's book on the financial crisis, "Whoops!"?