The Prince of the Marshes
And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq
Orlando : Harcourt, Inc., [2006]
Format: Book
Edition: First edition.
Description: xviii, 396 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
In August 2003, at the age of thirty, Rory Stewart took a taxi from Jordan to Baghdad. A Farsi-speaking British diplomat who had recently completed an epic walk from Turkey to Bangladesh, he was soon appointed deputy governor of Amarah and then Nasiriyah, provinces in the remote, impoverished marsh regions of southern Iraq. He spent the next eleven months negotiating hostage releases, holding elections, and splicing together some semblance of an infrastructure for a population of millions teetering on the brink of civil war.
The Prince of the Marshes tells the story of Stewart's year. As a participant he takes us inside the occupation and beyond the Green Zone, introducing us to a colorful cast of Iraqis and revealing the complexity and fragility of a society we struggle to understand. By turns funny and harrowing, moving and incisive, it amounts to a unique portrait of heroism and the tragedy that intervention inevitably courts in the modern age.
The Prince of the Marshes tells the story of Stewart's year. As a participant he takes us inside the occupation and beyond the Green Zone, introducing us to a colorful cast of Iraqis and revealing the complexity and fragility of a society we struggle to understand. By turns funny and harrowing, moving and incisive, it amounts to a unique portrait of heroism and the tragedy that intervention inevitably courts in the modern age.
Contents:
Capitalist-imperialist-crusader -- Waking up dead -- Mordor -- The prince of the marshes -- The British camp -- Regeneration -- Title TK -- Affairs -- Persia -- Ice cream -- Title TK -- Pagoda -- The supervisory committee -- High command -- Death of hero -- Friday prayers -- And would not stay for an answer -- Resolutions -- Blood money -- Resignation -- Summit -- Iraqi pastoral -- Al-Mutanabi street -- Rural rides -- Deputy -- The paths that lead to destruction -- Import substitution industrialization -- Jobs -- Mutiny -- Sheikhs -- Precautions -- The Islamic call -- Sadrines -- Majority and minority -- Our successors -- Departures -- Trust -- A new chief -- Death by the office wall -- Credibility -- Nasiriyah -- Arrivals -- Morning meeting -- A second governor -- Sage of the assembly -- Mudhif -- Ali Zeidi -- Police -- Echoes from the frontiers -- Kidnapped -- Rewarding friends -- Foreign elements -- Return to the Green Zone -- The rule of law -- Besieged -- The quick reaction force -- Kabul -- Reprise -- Final days -- Ali Zeidi -- Last days in Amara -- Handing over -- Afterword -- Acknowledgments -- Dramatis personae -- Timeline.
Subjects:
Stewart, Rory -- Travel.
British -- Iraq.
Iraq -- Description and travel.
Iraq -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.
Stewart, Rory -- Travel.
British -- Iraq.
Iraq -- Description and travel.
Iraq -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.
ISBN:
0151012350 (hc)
| Availability | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
| HISTORY Asia Middle-East Ste | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |
