Customer Reviews

Iraq: Providing Hope

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This is an amazing account of what is really going on in Iraq. It is taken directly from the journals and everyday experiences of the men and women who are living it.

This book digs behind the headlines and gets down to the basic truths of war and the hope for peace and a better life.

It is a great read for military and civilian alike. Whether you have been there or are just interested in learning more, this book is the one to read.

Eric Holmes provides stories from Iraq that the media didn't want the public to hear before the presidential election. He's collected newsworthy events of what American servicemen are doing for the Iraqis, which wasn't possible under Saddam. Rather than how bad it is for Americans in Iraq, it's about the new schools, water flowing, electricity in buildings, and many of the comforts which Americans take for granted. It's also about the Iraqi citizens giving thanks to America for giving them a chance for a new life. Thanks, Eric for delivering the good news.

I was part of the team training the New Iraqi Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am excited that the author took time to gather accounts of OIF and give readers insight into the endeavor! I strongly recommend this book to any individual interested in current Middle Eastern affairs or the Global war on terror.

A Collection of Stories from 50 people involved with Rebuilding Iraq

The book "Iraq: Providing Hope" is a fascinating collection of interesting and at times, even provocative, personal life experiences from 50 people involved with the rebuilding efforts of Iraq. Eric Holmes and Michael Parkhouse put this anthology into a logical and emotional order that helps the reader get a better sense of what is happening in Iraq.

There are no other books like this out there on this present world situation. It offers first hand observations of the mundane and sometimes the frightful events going on. This is not just a military tale of war but a telling of the human experience from both military and civilian point of view.

The stories are woven together like a huge gig saw puzzle. It is the totality of all the pieces of this historic puzzle that gives you a much bigger and more focused perceptive of what this whole effort in Iraq is all about. This multi-viewed story telling is like looking at an aerial photo of a battle field for an understanding of what has happened. The editing smoothly ties it all together so that it moves and flows with energy and keeps the reader's interest throughout the book.

This book needs to be read by people trying to understand the mission and the purpose of what the USA is doing in Iraq. It gives you a view that you are not getting in the media today. Put this book on your reading list!

What a great book! It has made me cry, and it has made me laugh, but mostly it has made me proud and hopeful. Proud of our people serving in Iraq (male and female, armed forces and civilian). And also proud of the Iraqi people themselves! You don't get this feeling by listening to the media, and the people that talk to us through this book do point that out. This is a must read if you really want to know what is going on in Iraq.

I am a retired military who has paid his dues to his country as best he could, and I'm proud of my investment in the United States now and in the future.

I had little doubt that we would defeat Iraq in Desert Storm and in this latest confrontation; but I was worried about the aftermath...an American soldier on guard duty or check point duty at two o'clock AM in Baghdad was fraught with danger - and the situation has resulted in problems even worse than I imagined. - And 95% of current news reports add to my apprehensions.

Timberwolfpress has recently published a new book, "Iraq: Providing Hope" by Eric Holmes with Michael Parkhouse that gives another side to that of the normal Iraq headlines. They want us chair-bound Americans to "discover what America is really doing in Iraq" They record the personal stories of 50 people activley engaged in freeing and rebuilding Iraq..

They recall the heart aches, hard work and physical difficulties in getting from here to there, but I personally was most interested in their day-to-day work with the people in Iraq. There is constant recognition of danger in their daily missions, but their real contribution is their successes in getting fresh water to the populace; in their restoration of electricity; in setting up hundreds of schools that were defunct; in helping kids restore soccer to communities. They record successes and failures in trying to demonstrate democracy. They place pur prison scandal in perspective. They try to explain the attitudes of the people that causes problems for us and them.

All in all I recommend this book for the information it brings to the readers. At times, it is not easy reading, but for those who are willing to wade through it and who try to assimilate the recordings of a host of dependable witnesses, Iraq can become an education in the problems Americans face as they try to help this country devastated by a tyrant for more than 30 years.

CH. (COL) Wallace Hale (US Army retired)

Enjoying reading this book with lots of personal accounts. Much more informative than some political expert going on and on with his opinion. These are just regular folks tellng it like it is. You can tell these are authentic by the style of each writer. These stories are wrapped around a historical account to keep it all in perspective. I wish the book would have come out before the US election. It would have added to the debate.

Iraq: Providing Hope is an unabashedly upbeat anthology of personal stories from fifty people working and putting their lives on the line to free and rebuild Iraq. Including testimonies from both troops and civilians (but not generals, journalists, or politicians), Iraq: Providing Hope focuses on the human experience of soldiers, sailors, Marines, government employees, aid workers, and Iraqis. Iraq: Providing Hope is narrated in a dynamic, free-form style, with some pages and paragraphs devoted to one speaker then jumping to another and another, not a straightforward chapter style in which each narrative is independent of the other. A vital glimpse into what the heroes who risk their lives in Iraq are really thinking, and an upbeat testimony to the vision of creating a new Iraq of, by, and for the Iraqi people.