by William R. Polk
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Product Description
Iraq will continue to be a major issue and involvement for the United States into the foreseeable future says William R. Polk, former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council and professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago. Iraq sits on the world's largest supply of oil, and with the world's energy requirements continuously rising, Iraq will play an ongoing role in the global economy and the political environment throughout the Gulf region and the Middle East. Polk's concise, authoritative overview of Iraq's history shows how the pattern of outside intervention was established first by the Ottoman Turks and the Persian Safavids and later by England, Russia, and Germany. After World War I came British rule, followed by a brief and uneasy period of independence that sparked Iraqi nationalism, leading Saddam Husain to power with American military and financial aid and covert CIA involvement. The Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait was followed by the Gulf War, the sanctions period, and the Bush administration's decision to invade. Finally, there is the American occupation and the challenges, opportunities, and options that Iraqis and Americans face now and in the future.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Understanding Iraq: The Whole Sweep of Iraqi history, 2008-04-25
The author is highly experienced and well informed. The historical perspective is extensive but the book is written in a very readable style. A tremendous help in understanding the conflict and the issues of that part of the world.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
A good primer, 2008-02-08
This book was recommended to me in preparation for a tour in Iraq. It's an excellent overview of the history of this troubled nation, with due emphasis on the religious and tribal aspects. The latter portion which addresses US intervention makes clear the author's disapproval of US policy and actions.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Solid, brief history of Iraq, 2007-11-28
The purpose of this volume is straightforward (page xi): ". . .I am trying to give as complete a 'portrait' of Iraq as is now possible so that readers can evaluate the often confusing daily events. . . . I believe that knowing about events over-time is crucial to a perception of the present."
This book has several strengths in outlining Iraqi history: (1) it is brief and gives a sense of the sweep of Iraqi history in a way that can be digested well; (2) the history begins much earlier than other books on Iraqi history, going back to ancient times, about 6,000 BC; (3) it provides some context for examining the American occupation of Iraq after its invasion in 2003; (4) it is well written.
The downside is a mirror image: The historical coverage is quite brief and sometimes important events get short shrift. There is one page on the Assyrian empire, providing almost no detail. This is where other books can be more illuminating, because of their greater coverage of shorter slices of time. Books by Catherwood ("Churchill's Folly"), Dodge ("Inventing Iraq") and Tripp ("A History of Iraq") provide much more depth, albeit over more restricted time periods.
The book is organized by historical period. Chapter 1 focuses on ancient Iraq (Akkadians, Assyrians, etc.). Chapter 2 focuses on Islamic Iraq. This is the story of the rise of Islam and the split within that religion between Sunni and Shia (not told as clearly as, for example, in Nasr's "The Shia Revival"). Nonetheless, it provides context. Chapter 3? British Iraq. Here, the story of the British Mandate and its problems in trying to manage Iraq, a nation created by fiat. Catherwood's work is very good in its detailing of this era. And so on, up to Chapter 5--"American Iraq." Here, Polk examines the American invasion and its aftermath. The book concludes with a chapter that explores where we are now and where are things likely to go and what should the United States do.
So, a good brief crisply written volume. What is sacrificed? Depth and detail. But each reader will have to determine the tradeoff between these.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A Short, Concise, and Comprehensive Overview, 2007-08-19
This book is a good read for the average person wishing to brush up on the history of Iraq, and to understand why it is the U.S. occupying force has faced such difficulty (we should have learned from the British colonial occupation!). Written by an expert on Middle-Eastern affairs and a scholar of Arabic, it is both a concise history of Iraq from ancient times and a compelling criticism of the current U.S. occupation. Although Polk belittles the post-invasion presence of Al-Qaeda, and comes up short in terms of a comprehensive "solution" to the problem there (who currently doesn't?), this book is a recommended read for the introductory reader, written by a man of distinguished credentials. The primary weakness of the book is a lack of comprehensive footnoting and referencing, which would fully make transparent the author's sources. (Those supportive of the war will look in vain for any supporting reasons for the war in Iraq.)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Book of reality, 2007-08-08
This book is a must-to-read for all American policy makers who are dealing with Iraq issue. As an Iraqi who lived in the "Revolutionary Iraq" period, as the author names it, I agree with most of what he said. However, I disagree with the idea mentioned in the book that Americans did not know that Iraq will invade Kuwait. Being less arrogant & reading a bit about the history of Iraq will definitely spare the Americans many lives. Till now, it is not too late to do so.
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