Customer Reviews

A Fist In the Hornet's Nest: On the Ground In Baghdad Before, During and After the War

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Richard Engel's "A Fist in the Hornet's Nest" is a stunning book, as absorbing for me as the Richard Halliburton books that I read and reread in my youth. Engel's own saga of living in the Cairo slums to learn the language and the culture is remarkable; and his decision then to move to Iraq without prospects of employment is courageous. The writing is intelligent and illuminating and yet so unpretentious I had the feeling that I was listening to a close friend describing the realities of a living adventure.

I am left with vivid images of the writer's relationships with shopkeepers, drivers, secret agents, terrorists, thieves, Iraqi top officials and the military.

The book is comprehensive, providing as it does, a knowledgeable exploration of the causes, problems and future issues that grip Iraq.

I recommend it enthusiastically.

William H. Kaven , Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Economics and Marketing, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

This book is full of youthful exuberance, fear, concern and wonder. It is the story of a rather self-starter of a reporter and his time covering the war in Iraq. The author starts that book with a chapter on how he moved from the US to the Middle East to start a career in journalism. He then jumps into the path he took going into Iraq without a news organization to work for and on a "Human Shield" visa. I could not tell if this very risky adventure was all bravery, desperation or stupidity, but it worked out for the author. It is a lesson in how corrupt and lazy government officials can be paid off for rather small amounts of good old cash.

The author covers the pre war condition in Baghdad and what it takes to survive. The picture he paints is very interesting. It turned on my head a number of the recent impressions I had heard about the conditions in Iraq pre war. He does state it was difficult, but he could find the essentials for life in the markets. I was surprised by some of the rather carefree ways he was able to lose his minders and roam around town talking to whomever he wanted to. It started me thinking that if a young reporter with no experience in Baghdad can do this then why could not professional CIA staff been able to do the same?

The book picks up with the war and the author has some interesting, but not overly exciting experiences to share. As he was not an embedded reporter, he saw the war from the finish line so that once Baghdad fell his brief glimpse of war was over. He then covered the turmoil after the American army took over, the looting and random violence. If you followed the war on TV this reporting was nothing really that new or exciting, but very interesting. Overall the book was good, easy to read and fast paced. It did slow down at the end when the author went from reporting to providing his opinions on what the military and Bush Administration did not do correctly in a Monday morning quarterback style. The book just did not have enough extra to get it to the top of the charts in my opinion.

This is an interesting account by Richard Engel, who gets my vote for bravery, when he stays in Baghdad as the war arrives. His descriptions of the events, and in particular, the reaction of the people on the streets, shops, and restaurants are surreal. For example, while US bombs are falling on the city, people in the restaurant don't even acknowledge what is going on due to their fear of Saddam's regime. The story seems quite balanced. I was surprised to read his stance on the war, which I won't reveal. Pick it up, you won't be disappointed.

This book is part memoir, part many religious factors of the country, part war reporting, and finally assessment of Iraq's future. All are interesting and you learn a reason for what is happening there at this moment. The Shiites are the power now through the religious government named the hawza; "the hawza being the most powerful and influential body in Iraq." The merja is the working part of the hawza. Confusing? The complexity of this country is mind boggling. Religion is the backbone and how events are going to unfold to stabalize the nation is anybody's guess. An interesting book for up-to-date information.

Richard Engel's new book, "A Fist in the Hornet's Nest", gives us a rare look into Iraq at the time of last year's American invasion. Nicely setting the tone of pre-war Iraq, Engel then takes us down the path of a city...Baghdad... in the sudden throes of war. Combining ingenuity, "street smarts" and a certain amount of luck, he gives us a view that no embedded correspondent could have done....a view that incorporates ordinary Iraqis going about their daily life with the inevitable hardships that they faced, and still do. The author is not shy about revealing his own thoughts regarding the American attack and occupation, but he does so in a way that offers perspectives based on what he saw, the people with whom he spoke and his general knowledge of the Middle East, having lived there prior to April, 2003.

"A Fist in the Hornet's Nest" could be more rightly described as a journal although he doesn't proceed in an exact timeline format. Richard Engel's writing is crisp and articulate and moves forward with a sense of urgency. He has provided a valuable addition to the history of this war and an assessment of where it might go.

Despite my giving this book a rather lukewarm rating, it does have several things to recommend it. Of these, the strongest is Richard Engel himself. His own story is a pretty impressive one. Fresh out of college, he decided the next frontier of journalism was going to be the Middle East. So he moved to Cairo and taught himself to speak and read Arabic (that right there puts him head-and-shoulders above probably 95 percent of the Americans reporting from the Mideast). With war in Iraq imminent, he made the effort to get to -- and remain in -- Baghdad when most other reporters were getting out. He was rewarded for this by becoming, after Peter Arnett was fired, the only western reporter still in the city as the bombs were falling. So I can't fault Engel at all for his bravery, his foresight, or his commitment to "telling the story."

Another thing Engel should be credited for is his decision while in Baghdad not to watch what other reporters or networks were saying about what was happening around him. (In part, he admits, this was due to the lack of functioning televisions during the bombing campaign. But that reinforced more than prompted his decision.) Engel's coverage therefore avoided the circular nature of reporting-on-what-other-reporters-are-saying that becomes so common during big news events. It also gives the central portion of this book a sort of claustrophobic immediacy -- like most other Iraqis, Engel is only aware of what's happening around him, not what larger picture may be unfolding around him. It's this that makes for the most interesting and evocative part of the book. On the other hand, when the author pulls his focus back -- like the clichéd technique at the end of movies -- to discuss The Big Questions about Iraq's future, the book becomes rather less interesting. Some 30 months after it was published, it's also now obviously fairly dated.

If all that makes for a generally positive review, what I kept coming back to as I was reading "A Fist in the Hornet's Nest" is that the writing itself -- the actual prose -- is fairly pedestrian. I suppose you could propose some theory about television reporters, whose primary medium is visual, not having cause to develop descriptive writing skills, and you might have something to that. At any rate, I thought the narrative here was often flat, the metaphors frequently tired, and many scenes that could have justified some vivid descriptive writing instead ended up lacking the emotional punch they deserved. But as a snapshot of the war (as opposed to whatever you want to call the period we're in now), "A Fist in the Hornet's Nest" still may be worth a look.

This is a quick read about the climate in Iraq leading up to and including the war.Although the ideas and factions are numerous,varied and never ending ; volumes could be written about this subject.This book gives a bird-eye view,one person expression and experiences.Other than being a "I was there when it happened",the reader should not expect this book to reveal any great insight into the mentality of the Arab world.It shows how the whole society is warped and overflowing with hate and revenge.
Of course; we believe that it would be wonderful if they would see that living in freedom and peace would be preferred to the present quagmire.
As Engel said ""In Iraq,truth was relative and seldom helpful."
When a society has lived with the concept of gratitude is gimmie and gotcha;it's a long road to peace and freedom.
Peace and Freedom will not come from endless rhetoric but from truth,trust and justice;a very rare commodity in Iraq.
Hope without action produces nothing.

It was enjoyable to read a book that was comprehensive, entertaining, insightful and most importantly conclusive. I really enjoyed learning the end to stories that were shown on the news. It was also a delight to have a behind the scenes look into the world of jounalists. As with many things, it may seem glamorous, but the reality of it is completely different

As I plowed through Richard Engel's experiences, a line from the (crappy) movie Armageddon kept ringing in my ears, "...scariest environment imaginable...."

And to think so many brave reporters have literally put their lives on the line to bring us their stories from these tattered war zones. Bottom line, Richard Engel's book is stellar in every way, and I thoroughly enjoyed my read. I found myself wishing the book was longer, thus spreading out my reading as I didn't want it to end. It was not only informative, but so well written. I don't think I've read a more intimate story, and told in such a descriptive manner, without losing the story's momentum.

Surprisingly, I found myself laughing out loud numerous times. Engel has a knack for phrasing/wording certain passages with comedic flair, which helped soften the hard edges of the ugliness of war and all of it's brutalities.

As stated in a previous review, I think Hollywood should snatch up the rights to Engel's book as it would make for an amazing theatrical film. Heck, they made that horrid novel Jarhead into a movie-- directed by Sam Mendes of all people. By those standards, Terrence Malik, Steven Soderberg or Micheal Winterbottom (who directed the incredible movie 'Code 46' and 'The Road to Guantanamo') should direct 'A Fist in the Hornet's Nest'.

With the current debacle in Lebanon/Israel well under way, I'm wondering if Engel will have a chance to write another book based on his current experiences covering the conflict.

I couldn't put this book down! Mr. Engel's firsthand experiences reflect his knowledge and understanding of the Mideast culture. His personalized style of writing made me feel like I know him. This book gave me a deeper understanding on how this war evolved, his experiences during the war and what the implications are for years to come. His story would make a great screeplay as it is passionate and riveting!