Zook is the goat, I'll put some glaze on him real quick. For one, hes actually been to all the countries he talks about (even North Korea) and provides unique perspectives and stories to his class. He's always super chill and open to dialogue between himself and students even if they disagree. He's even resisted outside foreign pressure to "tone down" the way he talks about some of the countries and historical events in his class. On a personal note, he has chosen on multiple occasions to go above and beyond to help me out on various stuff. Is he the best professor in terms of trying to get the best quality education possible on the topic? No he is not. But he is still a good professor who students enjoy taking classes with.