- Paperback: 346 pages
- Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (Jun 15 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0520214390
- ISBN-13: 978-0520214392
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #417,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Originally written under the pseudonym Samir al-Khalil and published before the Gulf War, Republic of Fear describes the rise of Saddam Hussein and the Arab Ba'th Socialist party. The author, an Iraqi expatriate now living in the United States, offers this updated edition under his real name, Kanan Makiya. A new introduction discusses events following the invasion of Kuwait ("the chamber of horrors that is Saddam Hussein's Iraq has grown into something that not even the most morbid imagination could have dreamed up"). The book is not merely a chronicle of recent Iraqi politics, but a discussion of why the country has evolved into "a Kafkaesque world ... one ruled and held together by fear." Essential reading for anybody who wants to understand modern Iraq. --John J. Miller
From Library Journal
The author, an Iraqi expatriate writing under an assumed name, has painted a bleak and forbidding landscape of Iraq--past, present, and future. He painstakingly lays out the labyrinthine history of the chronologies, players, and actions of the Ba'th party and Iraq from 1958 to 1980. However, despite its thoroughness, this book is not objective; in the prefatory note, al-Khalil states "my prejudices . . . give rise to a particular interpretation of Iraqi Ba'thism." While his bias may be somewhat borne out, the author unfortunately writes more from conviction than from impartial observation. Nonetheless, this is highly recommended for all major collections in large public and academic libraries.
- David P. Snider, Casa Grande P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- David P. Snider, Casa Grande P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Salim was about to sit down to dinner when the knock came. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Salim was about to sit down to dinner when the knock came. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Read,
By
This review is from: Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq, Updated Edition, With a New Introduction (Paperback)
During this time of transition in Iraq where many believe that going in there was a mistake, this book will remind you as to why we did what we did. The book goes in depth about the brutality of the former Saddam hussein regeime.It goes into such detail about the torture, genocide and other regeime atrocities that I could just about feel the bottoms of my own bare feet being caned until the soles of my feet were completely covered with lash marks and blood. Please read this book to remind yourselves why it was important to remove Saddam Hussein.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
good book if put in perspective,
By Catherine Yanko (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq, Updated Edition, With a New Introduction (Paperback)
Republic of Fear is written in a sensationalistic style, essentially as propaganda, but it does not detract from the reality of the unimaginable terror in the day-to-day lives of Iraqi population. Before Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraqi exiles like Makiya, Ahmed Chalabi, and other ex-pats who made up the Iraqi National Congress had an agenda to convince foreign governments to help topple Saddam Hussein. That being said, Republic of Fear (and Cruelty and Silence as well,) provide excellent insight into the horrors and atrocities of the Baathist regime. The most valuable thing the reader comes away with is an understanding of the psyche of the Iraqi public. Had the powers-that-be read a little Makiya before the whole Abu Ghraib prison fiasco, the US would be in better standing with the Arab community.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Chilling Look Inside An Evil Regime,
By
This review is from: Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq, Updated Edition, With a New Introduction (Paperback)
This is a very good book to read at the current time. Although it is a bit dated, Republic of Fear presents an extremely detailed and in depth look at Saddam Hussein's Ba'thist regime. The party's history and it's structure are explained very well. The details are extremely chilling. The parallels between the Iraqi regime and that of Josef Stalin are plentiful, from mass killings to child indoctrination. It is obvious early in the book that Iraq is a country ruled by fear and death, where a large percent of the population spies and informs on their neighbors.Also interesting is the operational makeup of the Iraqi security apparatus. It is through this web of overlapping agencies that Hussein stays in absolute control. The man himself is portrayed as a fiendishly clever but thugish brute who will kill absolutely anyone to stay on top. The Iraqi people are identified as cowed sheep who are desperate to find a way to avoid contact with officials or any kind of Iraqi administration. Just hope for a free Iraq, it could be a reality very soon.
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