Article first published as Book Review: Fragments from Iraq by Zsolt T. Stockinger on Blogcritics. “[W]hen Allah created hell, it wasn’t terrible enough, so he made Iraq – and added flies.” Old Arab saying (page 81). About: Fragments from Iraq: Diary of a Navy Trauma Surgeon by Zsolt T. Stockinger is a non-fiction book which recounts the daily life of a trauma surgeon on the front line. The book is in diary format written by the doctor which seems as if he was talking to his wife. 255 pages Publisher: Mcfarland (May 3, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 078646951X My rating for Fragments From Iraq – 4 Buy this book in paper format Thoughts: Fragments from Iraq: Diary of a Navy Trauma Surgeon by Zsolt T. Stockinger relates the daily activities this front line trauma surgeon encountered in his base in Iraq. From the boring daily routine, to the military’s “hurry up and wait” mentality and to the serious injuries, whether from an IED, to local babies, self inflicted wounds and more. The diary is written in an informal style, but it seemed to me that it was edited and maybe sanitized to make it more palatable to a larger audience. Personally I see…

About: Late for Tea at the Deer Palace : The Lost Dreams of My Iraqi Family by Tamara Chalabi is a book which was hard to classify. Part history, part cultural, part fictional and non-fictional family saga and all about a bygone era. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— enter at the end of the post. 448 pages Publisher: Harper (January 18, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0061240397 My rating for Late for Tea at the Deer Palace – 5 Great price on this book in paper format through the Man of la Book Affil­i­ate Account More books by Tamara Chalabi Thoughts: I believe that Late for Tea at the Deer Palace by Tamara Chalabi is the first book I read because I have heard of the author’s father. I recognize Ahmad Chalabi’s name from years of living in the Middle East as well as his temporary high profile during The Gulf War where he was accused of many things, including being a triple agent giving faulty intelligence. However, the story of Ahmad Chalabis rise and fall is the least interesting part in this fascinating book. The first feeling that struck me while reading this book is jealousy. If ever I’d write a…

Article first published as Book Review: The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen on Blogcritics. About: The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen is a fictional book set in Saudi Arabia. The book is a character study of marriage in the midst of a culture clash. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— enter at the end of the post. 352 pages Publisher: Harper Perennial; Original edition ISBN: 0062064487 My rating for The Ruins of Us – 4 Great price on this book in paper or elec­tronic for­mat through the Man of la Book Affil­i­ate Account Thoughts: The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen (website | Facebook | Twitter) starts off slow but picks up towards the end. The protagonist, Rosalie, finds out that her loving husband has hidden a second wife from her, but Rosalie is a Texas girl. The interesting part, for me, is the descriptions of a part of the world which, unfortunately, I will most likely never get to visit and that of a foreign culture. The descriptions of the beautiful and not-so-beautiful parts of Saudi Arabia were wonderfully written and the cultural issues expatriates have to deal with were fascinating. The characters were engaging and some even likeable, but I felt that the story…

After getting home from a very long shift, Dr. Jafaari is woken up asking to come identify his wife’s body who has been killed in a suicide attack

Stephen England is the write of Pandora’s Grave. The book is a very interesting thrill ride and I was interested in how Mr. England came up with the ideas

“The Eighth Scroll” by Laurence B. Brown is a fictional book which draws on the Judaism, Christianity and Islam to create a new story.

This is an amazing compilation which gives us insight into the mind of two ambitious men who are striving towards a goal no-one thought possible.

Autobiography of Moab who is caught between his own morality and his community. After gaining his trust, the shin bet asks Mosab to work as a double agent