The Struggle for Kirkuk by Henry D Astarjian Md

The Struggle for Kirkuk by Henry D Astarjian Md

Explores, through real life stories, the social and political dynamics at play in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan before the rise of Saddam Hussein. Kirkuk is a hotly contested oil city - a time bomb with the potential to shatter the fragile hope for unity in Iraq.

Among the plethora of recent books on Iraq, this is unique because it offers a provocative view into Iraq's tumultuous past through the eyes of an Iraqi American physicianThis is a historical memoir about the struggle over Kirkuk's great oil fields and the crises besetting Iraqi society before the Baath party takeover and rise of Saddam Hussein. Astarjian, the son of Armenian genocide survivors, chronicles Kirkuk's ethnosectarian diversity as Jews, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians, and Arabs lived together in peace, despite the power plays over the oil fields involving British officials, Soviet agents, and others representing national or ethnic interests. Included are fascinating accounts of the overthrow of the Royal Hashemite regime in 1958, the author's incarceration and torture at the hands of his childhood friend (who had become a communist), and his imprisonment in a Baghdad military prison with Baath party leaders….[t]his is a compelling story about the formative years of modern Iraq, intended to enlighten Americans about the immense challenges and perils facing them in a tragic land. Sadly, it may be too late to make it a must read for US policy makers. Recommended. General readers, lower-division undergraduates through practitioners. * Choice *
Iraqi-American Astarjian combines memoir with history in describing the oil politics of Kirkuk in Northern Iraq from the 1940s through to the mid 1960s, when he left for America shortly after Saddam Hussein's assassination attempt on Prime Minister Abd-al-Karim Qasim. His description of the political life of Kirkuk during this era gives a small window into the complex forces at work Kurdish versus Arab, Arab versus Turkomen, Communist versus Baathist, etc. and Astarjian is not shy about letting his own anti-communist, anti-Baathist, and other views out into the open. * Reference & Research Book News *

Henry D. Astarjian is a neurologist who grew up in Iraq. He has lived in the United States since 1966. He attended the Royal College of Medicine in Baghdad and was in the Iraqi Army during the 1950s. He is the author of several articles on Iraqi Kurds and Armenian issues. He is the only witness to the assassination attempt by Saddam Hussein on Iraq's Sole Leader Abdul-Kareem Qasim, organized by the Ba'th Party.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780275995898
ISBN 10	0275995895
Title	The Struggle for Kirkuk
Author	Henry D Astarjian Md
Series	Praeger Security International
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Year published	2007-05-30
Number of pages	200
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable