Saddam [Paperback]

Con Coughlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0330393103 | ISBN-13: 978-0330393102

Drawing on an unparalleled network of sources, contacts, and first hand testimonies, Con Coughlin takes us to the centre of Saddam's complex and bewildering regime. In 1979 Saddam took power and immediately set about controlling every aspect of Iraqi life. The Kurds and Shiites have been subjected to horrendous genocidal attacks, thousands of political prisoners taken, many tortured for Hussein's own gratification. Even his own two sons-in-law were murdered on Saddam's direct orders. More than this, Coughlin takes us behind the palace gates to view Saddam and the contradictions of his private life. His sponsoring of Islamic fundamentalism is at odds with his whisky drinking and womanising; his reliance on and celebration of family negated by his violent and temperamental treatment of them. With evidence from both family members, servants and staff, "Saddam: The Secret Life" is unique in its representation of his illusive and secretive world. Insightful, penetrating and shocking, Con Coughlin has written the defining biography of one of the most dangerous men in the world. "Excellent and disturbing...the case for getting rid of this terrifying madman as soon as possible is overwhelming. " - William Shawcross, "Sunday Telegraph".

Editorial Reviews

Review

.".. readers looking for a biography of Iraq's strongman will need to look no further." -- Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Con Coughlin is Foreign Editor of the Sunday Telegraph, and the author of two highly acclaimed books on the Middle East - Hostage (1992) and A Golden Basin Full of Scorpions (1997). Through contacts built up for more than a decade he has exclusive access to key sources on modern Iraq and Saddam's regime.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan (March 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330393103
• ISBN-13: 978-0330393102
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,704,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unveiling a people's history, February 23, 2005

By 

Hussain Abdul-Hussain (Washington,DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saddam (Paperback)

How did the impoverished boy from the middle of nowhere become Iraq's strongest dictator and its most brutal tyrant?

In a wonderful narrative and an attractive style Con Coughling answer this question as more as he sheds light on the life of deposed Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein in his book Saddam Hussein: The Secret Life.

Saddam's life might have been secret for many Westerners and even non-Iraqi Arabs, but for Iraqis, the stories of terror, corruption and palace conspiracies were everywhere. Coughlin did a marvelous job in documenting them and putting them together.

The book highlights Saddam's mastery of fist-fighting at first, which compensated his little intellect and political ability. That was one of the main reasons why the Baath Party's founders and mentors took him under their wing and elevated him to the highest of position: Saddam was ready and willing to terrorize others on behalf of the Baath and impose a harsh rule.

Eventually, Saddam, a hard worker fascinated by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, eliminated his own comrades and even family members. The book shows the downward way of Saddam and his family which ultimately led to their political isolation, the destruction of Iraq and finally hi own deposition.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Coughlin's sources, August 4, 2009

By 

E. Mark (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saddam (Paperback)

As the manager of [...] and writer for other sites on Iraq I can say that Coughlin is well connected in the Middle East and his views are worth hearing.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrifically biased, October 14, 2010

By 

Thomas Fletcher "bumflufferies" (Cook Islands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saddam: The Secret Life (Paperback)

Well, someone had to justify the almost totally unjustifiable (ie a 'liberation mission' for the Iraqis ends up killing over a million, producing mass homelessness and poverty, food and power shortages, etc) Iraq War. Coughlin attempts so here, portraying Saddam as a man just as draconian as Hitler and Stalin, claiming he funded and organised a large part of al-Qaeda and saying a load of other made-up rubbish with the intention of shocking the reader to the degree they would support the Iraq War. Don't read this.