Iraq in Books - Review Essay

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Iraq in Books
Review Essay
by Michael Rubin
Middle East Quarterly
Spring 2007

The Iraq war has pumped adrenaline into the publishing industry. Whereas five years ago, few bookstores included any selections on Iraq, today dozens of Iraq books line the shelves. There have been three waves of Iraq-related publishing: First came the embed accounts that described the military campaign; second were examinations of prewar planning and, third, studies of the occupation. Quantity does not equal quality, though, nor does popularity correlate to accuracy. Many of the most popular books have been deeply flawed. Many authors use their Iraq narrative to promote other agendas, be they related to U.S. domestic politics, U.N. empowerment, or independence for Kurdistan. Other authors have substituted theory for fact or tried to propel their experience into the center of the Iraq policy debate. While time has already relegated much Iraq-related writing to the secondhand shelf or dustbin, several authors have produced works that will make lasting contributions, be they to future generations of war and post-conflict reconstruction planners, or scholars looking more deeply into the fabric of Iraq.

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http://www.meforum.org/article/1654

Follow the link to see his review of the various books/genre of OIF.

Thanks for that Shek. Looks like an interesting document to frame my reading selections against.

If everyone here at the SWC shared an obscure reference link like this at least one time, the Council and SWJ are guaranteed to remain a powerful tool.

Just remember the source. Michael Rubin is a devout AEI neocon who believed until the end in Ahmad Chalabi. His attempt to paint COL W. Patrick Lang as a Lebanese agent is particularly tendentious, given that Lang's analysis of Iraq has been far more accurate than that given by Rubin himself.

here in Kinshasa it is very difficult to get books so i haven't been reading much beyond SWJ materials about the Iraq and Afghanistan. i will be going home for a bit next month though.

can the council members suggest 6 to 10 (i am being a bit ambitious) book titles that i should read while at home and buy for the next time i go out of the country?

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Just remember the source. Michael Rubin is a devout AEI neocon who believed until the end in Ahmad Chalabi. His attempt to paint COL W. Patrick Lang as a Lebanese agent is particularly tendentious, given that Lang's analysis of Iraq has been far more accurate than that given by Rubin himself.

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Not surprisingly, he slams Assassin's Gate, which analyzes the neo-con movement and its role. Pat Lang is many things, a Lebanese agent is not one of them.

Tom