Customer Reviews

Spinning on the Axis of Evil: America's War Against Iraq

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Written as a first person narrative, Spinning on the Axis of Evil takes readers inside Iraq before, during and after George Bush's ill-conceived military intervention. The best part about Taylor's unique writing style is that he approaches complex social-political issues from a layperson's "ground-up" perspective, -rather than some academic egghead preaching from a professorial pulpit. One learns about Iraq's diverse tribal, religious and linguistic divisions while Taylor and his alcoholic Iraqi driver bumble their way around the countryside on the eve of war and in anarchy which followed. Spinning certainly provides a rare and previously unseen look into the world of Saddam Hussein's Iraq (including a colour photograph of Uday Hussein's prostitutes sunbathing naked at the Al Rasheed hotel!). Although Taylor was a frequent "guest" of the Iraqi regime, he was also expelled twice for his writings, and even accused of being a spy for the Mossad. A must read for anyone who questioned the rationale behind Bush's blunder into Iraq.

Spinning on the Axis of Evil documents the trips Canada's top war reporter has made to Iraq since 2000. Each time, the author spent days traveling the cities and countryside, often winding up in considerable physical danger, just to find out what people were saying, doing, and thinking. Unlike the usual "embedded" Iraq war reportage-lite, Taylor's in-depth focus results in a unique and unforgettable narrative that adds considerably to our understanding of America's most destructive intervention since Vietnam.

Soldier-turned-writer Scott Taylor first won the enmity of the Canadian military brass for exposing corruption in the ranks, and then scrambled through various Balkan war zones, winding up in all the wrong places at just the right time. And, while continuing to publish a Canadian military magazine (Esprit de Corps), he made television appearances as an analyst for Situation Report and CNN. Far from being the typical retired quarterback-commentator, Taylor stepped up his travels - and especially, to Iraq.

Taylor's methodical practice of recording the situation on the ground before, during, and after a conflict makes him stand out in this age of parachute journalists blinded by "the fog of war," as Geraldo once put it. Having spent years researching, visiting and making contacts, Taylor knew in advance how to operate in Iraq. Most importantly, Taylor was not cowed into writing the kind of laudatory review that the US government and its neoconservative warmongers demanded...

The rest of this review, as well as interviews with the author, Scott Taylor, can be found here: www.balkanalysis.com

Finally a book that shows us the other side of George Bush's propaganda war against Iraq! Taylor's pre-war visits to Iraq to report on the crippling effects of the 12 year embargo may help to explain to Americans why their troops were not greeted as liberators when the toppled Saddam. Highly readable, this book is a great adventure yarn as well as a tremendous source of truth about the plight of Iraqi people. Excellent!