Best Books on Iraq [Archive] - RonFez.net Messageboard

Yerdaddy

01-06-2007, 02:11 AM

<a href="http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1581" target="_blank">This is the annual list</a> put out by the organization of my best friend who runs the organization - and a past guest of the show. Since I'm vouching for the organization that made the list that should give you an idea of where the organization is coming from. You won't find any Chomsky or Michael Moore, or Hannity or whoever the fuck is making money lying about Iraq for the right. I wish I could say I've read some of these but I haven't had access to real books for a couple of years; I've had to depend on the organization's recommended inline article list they send out most months, (I can vouch for that too.) I did find Seymour Hersh's "Chain of Command" here in Bangkok the other day and the first chapter is as great a piece of investigative journalism as the rest of Hersh - in other words: the best in the business. At any rate, this is the list I'm carrying around Bangkok trying to find.  <h4 align="center">Best Books on Iraq</h4><h5><a href="http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1581#topten">Top Ten Books of 2006</a> | <a href="http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1581#honorablemention">Honorable Mention</a> | <a href="http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1581#classics">Top Classics</a> | <a href="http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2255#recommended">A Complete List of Recommended Books</a></h5>To make browsing easy, we have compiled book reviews, author interviews and other helpful resources for all of our selections below, along with direct links to Powells.com and Amazon.com. Your purchase helps support EPIC and our mission to promote peace in Iraq. <a href="http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2306" target="_blank">How?</a><a name="topten"></a><h5>Top 10 Books of 2006</h5>(1) Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward -- A New Approach by The Iraq Study Group, James A. Baker III, and Lee H. Hamilton (Vintage, 2006, 160 pgs, ISBN: 0307386562). Opening with a 39-page assessment of America’s failing strategy in Iraq, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James Baker and Lee Hamilton recommends a “comprehensive new approach” for improving security, political stability and governance in Iraq. The report’s 79 recommendations largely focus on American diplomacy, cooperative security between Iraq and its neighbors, and Iraqi leadership on national reconciliation. Although it falls short of offering a complete strategy, especially related to bottom-up solutions, the report provides President Bush and Congress with a strong foundation on which to build bipartisan consensus for a new direction in Iraq. <a href="http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2282">More Information</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31170/biblio/0307386562" target="_blank">Order It Now</a>(2) The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq by Rory Stewart (Harcourt, 2006, 416 pgs, ISBN: 0151012350). Rory Stewart, a member the British government, served with the Coalition Provisional Authority as deputy governor of the Maysan and Dhi Qar provinces in southern Iraq from August 2003 until June 2004. Interspersed with colorful stories and unforgettable characters, he describes the trials and tribulations of governing more than 2 million Iraqis who he initially knew little to nothing about. Like compatriot Mark Etherington, who wrote Revolt on the Tigris about his experience governing Wasit province, Stewart underscores the importance of empowering communities and meeting local needs for stabilizing the country. <a href="http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2242">More Information</a> | <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31170/biblio/0151012350" target="_blank

A.J.

01-06-2007, 08:59 AM

I'm waiting for the Cliff's Notes.

FUNKMAN

01-06-2007, 09:08 AM

i heard this was a popular one<img src="http://www.drmiletski.com/images/cover_page.jpg" border="0" width="270" height="350" />

SinA

01-06-2007, 09:09 AM

this one's not bad<img src="http://www.padfield.com/clipart/BookCovers/creeds/images/Koran.jpg" border="0" width="303" height="432" />

high fly

01-09-2007, 12:38 PM

When it comes to the self delusion we see on the part of the Bush administration and their glassy-eyed zombie followers, David Hackworth's About Face is quite enlightening.For example, to see the folly of Bush's Fresh Surgin' Legion, Hackworth said,describing a fact-finding tour in Vietnam, circa 1966,"As our trip drew to a close, my observations gained throughout began to line up to form a very bleak picture. It wasn't just that we were losing the war. Instinctively I'd known that was the case for a long time. But what I couldn't have guessed was how much faster we were losing than I had imagined. To me, General Westmoreland was like the poker player who hadn't won a pot all night - in the desperate hope of changing his fortunes, he kept bumping the ante and forcing everyone to play faster. But it seemed he was throwing good money after bad. From the beginning of the escalation, as fast as we dispatched new units, the NVA matched them, the enemy too, upping the ante, confident that we could be tapped out."

JohnWC

01-09-2007, 07:02 PM

Almost done with #10, Imperial Life in the Emerald City now. Highly recommended.I was given The Prince of the Marshes for Christmas and plan on reading that next. 

This message was edited by JohnWC on 1-9-07 @ 11:47 PM

DonInNC

01-09-2007, 07:07 PM

Thanks. I've been wanting to do some reading on Iraq, but I'm skeptical of every book I pick up.

CofyCrakCocaine

01-09-2007, 10:02 PM

Thanks for the reading list Yerdaddy, this is gonna be enlightening shit for me to read. Though I think it'll make me pretty angry...I hate politics. Part of why I post so much, bugs the shit out of me until I talk about it, get it outta the system. You should provide us a mailing address, so we can send ya some real books if you want 'em (and have the time). Tho u say it changes so often, so who knows how that'd work. Just an idea.