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CIAO DATE: 5/5/2007
Iraq in Books, Part I
Michael Rubin
March 2007
Abstract
The following article is the first of two installments by Michael Rubin in AEI’s On the Issues series. The two articles originally appeared as a review essay in the Spring 2007 edition of Middle Eastern Quarterly.
The Iraq war has pumped adrenaline into the publishing industry. Whereas five years ago few bookstores included any selections on Iraq, today dozens of Iraq books line the shelves. There have been three waves of Iraq-related publishing: first came the embed accounts that described the military campaign, second were examinations of prewar planning, and third were studies of the occupation. Quantity does not equal quality, though, nor does popularity correlate to accuracy. Many of the most popular books have been deeply flawed. Many authors use their Iraq narrative to promote other agendas, be they related to U.S. domestic politics, United Nations empowerment, or independence for Kurdistan. Other authors have substituted theory for fact or tried to propel their experience into the center of the Iraq policy debate. While time has already relegated much Iraq-related writing to the secondhand shelf or dustbin, several authors have produced works that will make lasting contributions, be they to future generations of war and postconflict reconstruction planners, or scholars looking more deeply into the fabric of Iraq.