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The Fall of Baghdad

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Of the many accounts finding their way into print regarding the journalist's eyewitness view of the onset of war in Iraq, few are as singularly exciting or as authentically spontaneous as this rendering from veteran news correspondent Jon Lee Andersen, whose account of the approach and early progress of the war on the ground in Baghdad is quite unnerving. Like a descent into Dante's Inferno, the reader is swept into the swirl of explosions, confusion and depravity that the war drags in its fateful wake. Unlike most foreign correspondents, Andersen was already positioned in the city before the onset of hostilities, and was not embedded with American soldiers as were most of his counterparts. For that reason, he can deliver a quite diverting and totally uncharacteristic view of the pedestrian's view of the war up close and personal, without either the protection or the potential interference of the military in determining what he sees or how he interprets it. And what he sees is harrowing, indeed.

Andersen witnesses the unraveling of the social fabric as the daily tension and anxiety regarding the forthcoming blitzkrieg mounts into a crescendo of emotions and activity. The average man on the street understands all too well that they live within the very bulls eye targeted by the stealth bombers and the cruise missiles; yet they prepare for the coming hostilities with what the author views as an astonishing degree of resignation and a simple acceptance of the overwhelming fact that the Americans are coming, and that there is little or nothing they can do about it. And in the mix of the fear and loathing was an exigent fear of the current regime, with its endless capacity to punish anyone they might construe as unruly, discontented, or disloyal. So they gin up as much gallows humor as possible, and whistle on their way through their daily chores, determined to survive both Saddam and the Americans, as well.

The author also does a good job in depicting how daily incidents force the journalists to choose between their professional ambitions on the one hand, and their desire to stay alive long enough to have the story published. He weaves telling anecdotes into the narrative in such a way as to breathe more realism and a greater appreciation for the cultural, social, and political conflicts individual Iraqis had to overcome to assist him with the story, and in many instances we come to admire the passion, courage and tenacity of such people in pursuing a better life under the most harrowing of circumstances. This is a great book, one that is both a great read and very illuminating as well. I can highly recommend it for anyone interested in better understanding what life on the ground was like during those fateful weeks and months that the war in Iraq was being decided. Enjoy!

Jon Lee Anderson is a reporter who has realized the importance of building relationships with people in Iraq so he can tell the story of the country from a person to person perspective. He is obviously trusted and respected by people who are willing to take risks so he can witness the effects of Saddam's rule and the war on the day to day life of those he interviews.

I found the book fascinating and adding so much depth beyond the daily news. What the news never relates is how warm and friendly the Iraqi people are even in the face of the current chaos in their country. It is striking and moving when Jon Lee consistently describes how the people he talks with separate the U.S. Government and military from him as an individual American reporter.

The reader is made aware that Iraq can't just be seen as "a country" but should be viewed as individual people whose lives are being profoundly effected every day in every way by the Coalition presence and the lack of security.

Iraqis seem to see talking to Jon Lee Anderson as an opportunity to give their opinion about the occupation and state their frustrations and questions. He in turn has, through the book, given their thoughts a voice that wouldn't be heard any other way. I wish our leaders would listen to what they are saying.

An excellent book which looks at the war through the eyes of Iraqi's that the author knew within the city.

The early chapters without a question paint a picture of a country in the grip of a murderous madman. Every indication shows every interview shows people doing what was needed to survive. Its kind of sad to read of people debasing themselves to get by.

The war itself was even more unreal, I can't consider what goes through the author's mind while listening to the drivel he is told by the people in charge.

The most interesting part is the post war bit and the Iraqi character. There are two things here to consider:

1. Iraqi's had spent decades adapting themselves to live under Saddam. Many actually were able to live quite well. They knew what was expected and acted accordingly. When that was gone many just couldn't cope. Instead of death coming from one known source, it could come from many at any time. This will be a real test of the character of Iraq and its ability to become a free society.

2. As a person of Siclian origin I recognize the way these people think. It is like thinking of the Mafia. You fear it as it can kill you, you respect it because their way of thinking is how you are taught, and even admire it because it is a power that is from your own race, it is that combination that kept and keeps many from "rating" out the mob. This is the same thing that keeps many people from helping us in Iraq. It is a love/hate relationship.

As the attackers concentrate on their fellow Iraqis (such as today's murder of children) this might change, it is one of the reasons why the mob doesn't tend to strike in its own neighborhoods.

A fine read

I must admit to being confused about Iraq. While it is a story still unfolding it is just now that the books are beginning to come out. You have to wait for the books because the news programs are so bad, the expression 'if it bleeds it leads' seems true.

Jon Lee Anderson had a different view of the war. He was in Baghdad before the war started and stayed there through the American takeover. This perspective is quite diffferent than those of the embedded reporters covering the war from the viewpoint of the military units. He knew and indeed was friends with a number of Iraqi citizens. He wrote a series of stories for the New Yorker magazine which became the foundation for this book. His stories and more important his analysis provides a stabalizing viewpoint in a situation that is certainly confusing to those of us looking at it from have a world away.

Jon Anderson has produced a detailed account of the lives of some people of Iraq during the advent and arrival of the American army and the consequent transitional ruling admnistration. More than anyone else in American journals, Anderson captures the daily details and outlooks of the participants as very real and profound shifts in affairs small and big overtake their lives.

The book is a journalistic account of months of on-the-ground witness to change and this journalist's drive to confront the protagonists and illuminate their real motives behind actions, past and present. From the humanist doctor who served Saddam to the driver who lost his U-turn privilege after the conquest, Anderson presents real meaning in the changes for Iraqis.

The book centers on Iraqis and not Americans. Anderson is almost superhumanly objective, but only as a witness to Iraqi life. The American side is not within reach or attempted here.

Anderson risks his life and rescues other lives. A real comment on the man, his effort and his profession.

Anderson's achievements in Afghanistan and elsewhere are to be greatly admired. They reach a new height here in the witness to the Fall of Baghdad.

The best of journalism.

The Fall of Baghdad, encompasses the story of the author's life and experiences for the duration of his time spent in Iraq from 2000 to 2004. The first thing that comes to mind when I think back about this book is that it was truly an eye opener that would surprise even the most knowledgeable person about the recent Iraq war. Anderson really manages to bring an epic tale into perspective as he conveys stories of not only his thoughts and experiences, but those of countless Iraqi and other people he meets over time.
Throughout his experiences Anderson delves deep into the psyche of everyone he talks to in an attempt to discover information about so many people and things that has never been discussed before. Anderson talks with common Iraqi adults and even children, as well as members of many factions and peoples, even close personal friends of Saddam Hussein's about their knowledge and feelings about Iraq, Saddam, Bush, America, and a multitude of topics that no one living outside of Iraq would have ever thought about. Through his highly detailed story telling, readers are brought right into the streets of Baghdad to experience firsthand the joy, frustration, victories and losses of thousands of people. I don't think I have ever been so moved by a book to have found myself hurrying through pages to see if friends of the author and places he visited survived or were utterly destroyed in the impending American assault on Baghdad and the resistance therein by Iraqi fighters.
We all know war is serious, but you really can never put it into perspective until you've read a book like this and experienced almost first hand the horrors and absolute harshness of the reality of war, the triumphs of freedom, the sadness of death and loss, and the elation of finding ones relatives or friends have survived. Jon Lee Anderson and The Fall of Baghdad manage to capture all of this, and so much more.

I was instantly drawn to this book and devoured it, reading it in two sittings. As expected, Jon Lee Anderson is an excellent writer, but more than that, he captures the heart and soul of the people. My take has to be different from most readers, because I was in Iraq in July 1998, and I met many of the same people Anderson writes about his book. Nasra al-Sadoun invited me to her home and I met her very kind husband, (I later heard he had died of cancer? True?) polite and gentle son, lovely daughter, and beautiful grandchildren, so sweet and entirely innocent. (Another guest was a Frenchwoman who insulted me with every sentence, but I found her behavior to be interesting and even fun and didn't take offense as the woman had never met me before that evening. She was so abusive that when Nasra's husband and son drove me back to the Al-Rasheed, they apologized profusely for her rudness, since Arabs simply never attack their guests or allow anyone else to do so. But I think Nasra was so upset about the suffering inside Iraq that she could barely stand the sight of an American, even if that American was appalled by the effects of the sanctions.) And, Nasra gave me the same speech that she gave Jon about the effects of the sanctions, although I had a great deal of sympathy for her and other Iraqis under the sanctions. The sanctions truly hurt the wrong people and gave Saddam and his cronies a wonderful excuse to get even richer. I heard how her family endured the bombing of Baghdad (in their basement) and how insects and all sorts of creatures crawled up through the dirt and got into their hair. Her children were small then, and of course, terrified, and all they knew was that America and Americans hated them and they were attacked violently. Of course, the children were too young to know much about the Iraqi attack on Kuwait, and that the aggressive had begun from Iraq. I admit that during this last war I thought of Nasr and her children/grandchildren constantly, worrying, and would love to know how they are faring, now. Additionally, I met the delightful Farouk Salloum more than once. One of the funniest episodes of my visit occurred in Farouk's office and I've yet to write about that, although I will. I was impressed at how Farouk tried to walk that narrow line, avoiding attacking Saddam, yet not doing Saddam's dirty deeds, as so many other Iraqis did. I wish Farouk and his beautiful wife and child every good thing. He's a good man. Truthfully, there are many many wonderful Iraqis, but we rarely hear anything about them, and the good Iraqis got much worse than they have deserved, much as in the same vein as the Russians under communism and the North Koreans and the Cubans, and so on... Once you put a face to any of these countries with bad rulers, you realize how helpless the people are and they basically have to buckle up and go along for the ride, however dangerous it might be. I commend John on how he captured the true spirit of Iraqis. If the rest of the world only reads one book about Iraq and Iraqis, I recommend this one. And, this is a big statement since I am Jean Sasson of Mayada, Daughter of Iraq.

Jon Lee Anderson has written a book on the War in Iraq. He's a journalist, like pretty much everyone else who's written books about the current conflict. The difference is that while most of the rest of the writers were embedded with American Army or Marine units, and so saw the war from the perspective of the U.S. military, Anderson was reporting on the lead-in to the war from Baghdad, and partly by choice, partly by circumstance, he stayed in the city throughout the war. This gives him a very different perspective on what was occurring while the shooting was going on.

The book itself spends a lot of time covering the nation of Iraq prior to the start of the war, and then has a couple of lengthy chapters dealing with the fighting and the aftermath of the American entry into Baghdad, followed by a very long epilogue that details the author's further adventures in the country. The whole thing is well-told, and for the most part interesting.

The author doesn't show much bias, either. He clearly despises Saddam and what he did to the country, and doesn't think much of the other extremist leaders there either. One interesting sidenote: he expresses considerable contempt for Peter Arnett, who wanders into a hotel towards the beginning of the book, before the war. Usually, the one person a journalist won't say anything negative about is another journalist.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. It covers the war from a pretty unique perspective, and I would recommend it.

A well-crafted report of the unique milieu of totalitarian Baghdad. Anderson expresses a deep humanity in the stories he tells. Without grasping for explanations or theories, he writes about the people he met and befriended and his own experiences as a journalist. His eye for the richness of the particular lives he encounters makes the bleakness of Saddam's cruel and absurd system all the more clear.

The world is indebted to author Jon Lee Anderson. He gathered in Baghdad to witness a war. He ignored President Bush's March 7, 2002 advisory to journalists to leave Baghdad. Anderson stayed and reported the "electric" tension among the people before the war, the fear during the war and more importantly the criminal chaos after the war ended.

Anderson concludes the United States came in with no plan for order, security, jobs, electricity, a water supply or the collection of garbage. The author is a gifted writer and carefully reports the sounds and colors of the city of Baghdad. Moreover, he provides a meticulous accounting of the growing doubts among the people of Iraq about the American capacity to restore law and order.

(...)

The author intelligently explains that Iraqis like foreigners but do not like to be governed by them. He also provides valuable insights to disenfranchised tribal leaders. Overall, this book is essential to understanding what went wrong with the White House war in Iraq. Interestingly enough, Anderson bravely offers the Shiite view of a simpler and cheaper way of winning the trust of the people of Iraq...solve the question of Palestine. "If you do you will have friends in Middle Eastern Government's and there would be no terrorism; they will deal with it...if the U.S. stood justly toward situations then its moral power would be stronger than its army power." Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz