Understanding Iraq, William R. Polk
Understanding Iraq, William R. Polk
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Understanding Iraq
The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation

Author: William R. Polk

Narrator: Paul Heitsch

Unabridged: 8 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/30/2023


Synopsis

Iraq will continue to be a major issue and involvement for the United States into the foreseeable future, says William R. Polk, former member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Council and professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago.Iraq sits on the world’s largest supply of oil, and with the world’s energy requirements continuously rising, Iraq will play an ongoing role in the global economy and the political environment throughout the Gulf region and the Middle East.Polk’s concise, authoritative overview of Iraq’s history shows how the pattern of outside intervention was established first by the Ottoman Turks and the Persian Safavids and later by England, Russia, and Germany.After World War I came British rule, followed by a brief and uneasy period of independence that sparked Iraqi nationalism, leading Saddam Husain to power with American military and financial aid and covert CIA involvement. The Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait was followed by the Gulf War, the sanctions period, and the Bush administration’s decision to invade.Finally, there is the American occupation and the challenges, opportunities, and options that Iraqis and Americans face now and in the future.

About William R. Polk

William R. Polk (1929–2020) was an American foreign policy consultant and author. He was a professor of history at Harvard University and the University of Chicago, and was president of the latter’s Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs. He helped to organize the “Table Ronde” meeting that laid the groundwork for the European Union. He was called back to the White House briefly during the 1967 Middle Eastern war to write a draft peace treaty and to act as advisor to US National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy.

About Paul Heitsch

After producing, directing, and engineering spoken word recordings for over twenty years, Paul Heitsch began narrating audiobooks in 2011, and has recorded many bestselling titles as both himself and under a pseudonym. A classically trained pianist, Paul is also a composer and sound designer, and is currently the director of music for the James Madison University School of Theatre and Dance, and an adjunct instructor for the JMU School of Music. He and his family live in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia (although Chicago will always be his hometown).


Reviews

Goodreads review by Eli on March 24, 2016

DNF @ chapter four of six. Well, this book is about 220 pages long. And it attempts to cover the history of Iraq. Like... the whole history. That's impossible. This book is way too compressed to effectively cover much ground for what Polk was aiming for. He dedicates one chapter to each period in Iraq......more

Goodreads review by Steven on September 21, 2009

The purpose of this volume is straightforward (page xi): ". . .I am trying to give as complete a 'portrait' of Iraq as is now possible so that readers can evaluate the often confusing daily events. . . . I believe that knowing about events over-time is crucial to a perception of the present." This b......more

Goodreads review by Hank on April 13, 2009

As the author intends, I think I can now say "aaah, I understand". The book is a good historical report on a land in constant contention that will have no parity among peoples. Just as there will not be a "fair" solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis, there will be no fair solution betwe......more

Goodreads review by Gabriel Joseph on June 07, 2008

This book really was a great introduction to the history of the area and its people. It can be a little biased against the GOP and how the current war has become a chaotic mess. As a whole the book is very enlightening for anyone wanting to receive a quick lesson about Iraq.......more

Goodreads review by Khalidalbanna on February 28, 2016

A quick read of the history of Iraq, which starts from ancient Iraq and ends at the aftermath of the 2004 US invasion.......more


Quotes

“Candid, concise, and highly recommended.” Booklist