Featuring the testimony of close to seventy Iraqis from all walks of life, Voices from Iraq builds a riveting chronological history unmatched for its insight and revelations. Here is a history of the war in Iraq as told entirely by Iraqis living through the U.S. invasion and occupation.
Beginning in 2003, this intimate narrative includes the experiential accounts of civilians, politicians, former dissidents, insurgents, and militiamen. Iraqis offering firsthand stories range from onetime Prime Minister Ayad Allawi to resistance fighters speaking on the condition of anonymity. Divided into five parts, these interviews recount the 2003 invasion; Iraq's gradual slide into chaos from 2004 to 2005; the start of a new order in 2006; the rise of open sectarian violence over the next two years; and the effort since 2008 to reconstruct a society from relative calm. Each section includes interviews grouped into themes, with brief epilogues for the participants. Not since Studs Terkel's The Good War has a book captured so acutely the human consequences of a conflict we are still struggling to understand. Voices from Iraq makes utterly vivid the meaning and legacy of America's campaign in Iraq.
- Contents
- Introduction
- A Note on Civilian Casualties
- Part One
- The Sanctity of Guns and Shrines
- Ra’ad Obaeid Hussein
- Ahmed Abu Ali
- An Army in Defeat
- Gassan Abdul Wahed Ined
- Baha’a Nouri Yasseen
- Hussein Al-Awadie
- Mohammed Khalil Hamed
- The Roads of Falling Cities
- Rahma Abdul Kareem Abbas
- Mohammed Abbas Abdul Al-Hur
- Farid Hadi Abdul Zahra
- Ali Al-Shaheen
- Tahseen Al-Shaikhli
- A Guest for Mr. Axe
- Home No More
- Hitting Back
- Part Two
- An End to Exile
- Ayad Allawi
- Mithal Al-Alusi
- The Coming of a War Within
- Abu Mustapha
- Azhar Abdul-Karim Abdul-Wahab
- Ahmed Ibrahim Abdul Wahab
- Ka’ab Zuhir Ahmed
- Saman Dlawer Hussein
- Old Foes
- The Edge of Battles
- Hayder Hamid Jawad
- Luay Ali Hussein
- Adel Rasheed Majeed
- A Saying About Luck
- Abdul Wahab Fuad Abdul Wahab
- Part Three
- A New Order
- Ali Jawad Kadhem
- Saddam Hatif Hatim al-Jabouri
- Sami Hilali
- Hayfa Kareem Sabi’a
- Rasim Hassan Haikel
- Moving Days
- Khail Ibrahim al-Nasir
- Um Omar
- Ibrahim Ishmael Khalil
- Yousef Aboud Ahmed and Anham Muhana Hasoon
- Ali Ibrahim Baher
- Khalid Adnan Khalid
- The Price of Sons
- Zaid Allwan Jafar
- Salim Kamel Shawal
- Questions and Answers
- Part Four
- The Mouths of Soldiers
- Sajad al-Hakim
- Wissam al-Rashied
- Saif Majeed al-Ta’ee
- A Visit to the Temple
- House to House
- Captain Emad
- Zahra Ech’daf Sangur and Fackria Zugai’er Khata
- Paths to Safety
- Maysoon Mahdi
- Usra J’bara Hadi
- The Face of a Savior
- Waking Up
- Sheik Hamid al-Hais
- Sheik Ahmed Buzai Abu Risha and Sheik Abdul SattarAbu Risha
- Sheik Mustafa Kamil Hamad Shabeeb al-Jabouri
- Ahmed Basim Mohammed al-Abaje
- Laughing to Bucca
- Part Five
- Keeping to the Neighborhood
- Less Than Whole
- Ali’a Anwer Majid
- Rana Abdul Mahdi
- Beloveds Lost and Found
- Maysoon Jahil Obeid
- Shiek Jamal Jassim Sudani
- Rajiha Jihad Jassim
- Entasar Abud Tahan
- Salma Hamid
- The Makings of Another Life
- Hamida Rahdi Salah
- Hassan Risn Badr al-Ruba’i
- Ala’a Alzobeidi
- Hayder Mohammed Jodah
- Salah Hamid Jasim
- Hassan Ali
- Acknowledgments