Product Description
An account of the forces, historical, religious, ethnic and political, that produced Saddam Hussein's dictatorship of Iraq. The country was forged after World War I from the Mesopotamian region of the collapsed Ottoman Empire, and its people have never had a national identity or a sense of common purpose. Hussein, ruling by terror, pitted the various ethnic groups, religious interests and tribes against one another, and in doing so achieved the destruction of Iraq's middle class and civilized society. After he goes, the country could be the site of conflict even more vicious than the Balkan wars.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 26 reviews)

Another Great Work by Mackey

This is the fourth book i have read from Sandra Mackey and as usual her work is just fantastic.This book gives you a very good understanding of the root of the problem in Iraq, altough the book was finished in 2001.She is excellent in her research and digs deep into the real problems in Iraq.As usual, her account is easy to follow and crystal clear, but without being to simplistic as to what is going on in Iraq.I especially liked her description of the problems of the Kurds which is part of the situation in Iraq.Again excellent work by one of the best.
September 16, 2008

Best book I have read about Iraq

Great overview of Iraq's history and racial ethic makeup/tensions. The author has a point of view but does not beat you over the head with it. Great book
May 17, 2008

Decent background

Mackey does a good job drawing some of the historical background of Iraq. However, she gets a bit too emotional and political in her analysis of Gulf War I and II. A bit more balance and rationality would have sustained the book's credibility, which wanes toward the end.
May 30, 2006

Not the best book on Iraq, but still worth the read

Sandra Mackey has somehow attracted the scorn of many amazon reviewers. The most familiar criticism is that she's never been to these countries and is just recycling old information. I don't beleive that just because a person has never been to a certain place, that that disqualifies that person from writing about it. I've never been to Iraq, but I'd like to think I know more than a bit about the place.

There are more general history books such as this about Iraq than perhaps any other Middle Eastern country, and of the ones I've read I would definitely say that Mackey has written one of the "good" ones. Some of the other books are too short, some focus heavily on certain time periods while breezing through others. Mackey's book covers a very broad time span and is of sufficient length and detail. There are some issues that she glosses over, particularly if the U.S. was doing something questionable, but on the whole, this is a book worth reading.

If you're only able to read one of these books about Iraq, I would recommend Anderson and Stansfield's Future Iraq: Democracy, Dictatorship, or Division? However, if you'd like to read multiple books about Iraq, make sure you get around to this one at some point.
April 30, 2006

A prediction of the hardships to come.

This is the fourth book I have read from Mackey. She is a very good writer with great knowledge of the Middle East. This book has very limited accounts of what she found in Iraq, but investigates the coming conflict well. She details how an occupation of this country would lead to a Civil War between the Shiite, Sunni, and Kurd groups. How right she was.

Mackey details the short history of Iraq. This country is at the center of civilization in the Middle East, but few know of the disparite elements that make up the population. When the British took three provinces from the Ottoman Empire and put them together, the world should have known this was an artificial state. When they imposed the Sharifian Feisal I on the throne and put the Sunnis in power, they were asking for trouble. Since that time, government in Iraq has gone from bad to worse. Saddam or the Buthcher of Baghdad was the worst of all. What is left out is all the problems the Americans have faced in Iraq since that time. The author can righly state that I told you so.

For those interested in the conflict in Iraq, this is a nice, informative read. Mackey always does a good job of writing her books.

April 23, 2006

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation
by Sandra Mackey, Scott Harrop

Understanding Iraq: The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation
by William R. Polk

Lebanon: A House Divided
by Sandra Mackey

The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom
by Sandra MacKey

The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End
by Peter W. Galbraith