The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq, Second Edition [Mass Market Paperback]

Joseph Tragert (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: January 4, 2005

News about the ongoing situation in Iraq dominates the news. From the almost daily terrorist incidents to difficulties encountered by the U.S. forces there to manage the changeover of power and sovereignty, everyone wants to know about this war-torn country and its people. Upon its first publication, "The Complete Idiot's Guide[registered] to Understanding Iraq" took the shelves by storm, offering an authoritative, up-to-date and easy-to-follow overview of Iraq, its history, its leaders, and its place in the international arena. Now, completely updated with the latest developments, exciting news photos, and informative maps, the second edition of this important book will take its place as the best guide to understanding the complex and volatile country of Iraq. The book is completely updated, with new chapters including updated information on: the invasion and subsequent military occupation; internal struggles and terrorism activity; ongoing controversies concerning weapons of mass destruction; the capture of Saddam Hussein and the deaths of his sons; information about the private military companies and their contract workers; information about the ongoing investigation into prisoner abuse and the changeover of power.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph Tragert is currently the principal and co-founder of the Massachusetts-based North Ridge Associates, an international consulting firm. Prior to this, he was a senior associate at KPMG Peat Marwick, where he specialized in Islamic relations and developed the company's body of knowledge on the politics, economics, and the history of Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 2 edition (January 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592573576
• ISBN-13: 978-1592573578
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,743,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential background for what's going on today., March 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq (Paperback)

I read this book, and I think it's an excellent primer on Iraq, from Churchill's mistake at its creation to the present day. It's indipensable for putting the current conflict into perspective.

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Proofreaders needed; or As the Chalkboard Screeches, April 3, 2003

By 

David W. Johnston (University Place, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq (Paperback)

Much if not most of this book is helpful and provides a much needed historical review and provides a context for today's events. Mr. Tragert's handling of ancient history is adequate, but nothing a good ten minutes in an encyclopedia could not equal. His treatment of the Epic of Gilgamesh is mercifully short and he touches lightly upon the similarities between it and the Bible without falling into the trap of claiming this as proof that the Old Testament redactors borrowed this legendary material to include in their own cosmology.

I would have rated his book higher except for one glaring mistake which set my teeth on edge which is the reaction I get when someone scratches a chalkboard with their fingernails over and over again. On page 44 he says, "Like the Greeks who followed them, the Sumerian religions were pantheistic and their gods were anthropomorphic." Feeling like an idiot, I consulted another annoying feature of this book which are the little boxes that appear throughout the text with little "nuggets" of information. This one was "Desert Diction" and defined pantheism as, "...{The} belief in a group of gods where each represents a specific human action, or emotion, or a physical element, such as one for the sun, and one for the moon." Let me guess, a group of gods would be a pantheon (Greek pan means all; theos means god or gods), thus pantheon would mean all of the gods. I may be an idiot, but I am not in kindergarten. What this informational "nugget" has done is define polytheism (poly=many + theoi=gods) not pantheism. Pantheism means all is god; it equates god with the cosmos.

I do have to give Tragert credit in that he misdefines pantheism consistently throughout the book. But if his defintion is correct, then all of my dictionaries are wrong, not to mention most if not all of the authors who have written on the subject like C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, Aldous Huxley, etc...or I am really a Complete Idiot.

While this may seem to be a small thing, it is disconcerting nonetheless,and raises the possibility of other not quite so obvious errors and misdefintions that might slip by unnoticed. Despite these caveats and the annoying way it is set up, this Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq is worth reading and is a useful tool.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview of Iraq, September 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book--it provides a first-rate history of the country and details the rise to power of Saddam Hussein. Highly recommended!