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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide To Understanding Iraq by Joseph Tragert, James S. Robbins ISBN: 0-02-864398-4 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 07 August, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Proofreaders needed; or As the Chalkboard Screeches
Comment: Much if not most of this book is helpful and provides a much needed historical review and provides a context for today's events. Mr. Tragert's handling of ancient history is adequate, but nothing a good ten minutes in an encyclopedia could not equal. His treatment of the Epic of Gilgamesh is mercifully short and he touches lightly upon the similarities between it and the Bible without falling into the trap of claiming this as proof that the Old Testament redactors borrowed this legendary material to include in their own cosmology.
I would have rated his book higher except for one glaring mistake which set my teeth on edge which is the reaction I get when someone scratches a chalkboard with their fingernails over and over again. On page 44 he says, "Like the Greeks who followed them, the Sumerian religions were pantheistic and their gods were anthropomorphic." Feeling like an idiot, I consulted another annoying feature of this book which are the little boxes that appear throughout the text with little "nuggets" of information. This one was "Desert Diction" and defined pantheism as, "...{The} belief in a group of gods where each represents a specific human action, or emotion, or a physical element, such as one for the sun, and one for the moon." Let me guess, a group of gods would be a pantheon (Greek pan means all; theos means god or gods), thus pantheon would mean all of the gods. I may be an idiot, but I am not in kindergarten. What this informational "nugget" has done is define polytheism (poly=many + theoi=gods) not pantheism. Pantheism means all is god; it equates god with the cosmos.
I do have to give Tragert credit in that he misdefines pantheism consistently throughout the book. But if his defintion is correct, then all of my dictionaries are wrong, not to mention most if not all of the authors who have written on the subject like C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Sayers, Aldous Huxley, etc...or I am really a Complete Idiot.
While this may seem to be a small thing, it is disconcerting nonetheless,and raises the possibility of other not quite so obvious errors and misdefintions that might slip by unnoticed. Despite these caveats and the annoying way it is set up, this Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq is worth reading and is a useful tool.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Absolute Best Book for Learning About Iraq
Comment: This book contains all the essential information on Iraq. What makes it really special is that it is easy and actually enjoyable to read. I've never bought any of the Idiot's Guides before, but this one tempts me to try a few others.
Rating: 5
Summary: Essential background for what's going on today.
Comment: I read this book, and I think it's an excellent primer on Iraq, from Churchill's mistake at its creation to the present day. It's indipensable for putting the current conflict into perspective.
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Understanding Islam by Yahiya Emerick, Qasim Najar, Quasim Najar, Yahiya John Emerick ISBN: 0028642333 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 05 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Iraq Road Map by ITMB by International Travel Maps, International Travel Maps ISBN: 1553412532 Publisher: ITMB Publishing Pub. Date: 01 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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Title: Baghdad City Map by ITMB by International Travel Maps ISBN: 1553416058 Publisher: ITMB Publishing Pub. Date: 01 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Iraq: The Bradt Travel Guide by Felicity Arbuthnot, Karen Dabrowska ISBN: 1841620270 Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The New Iraq: Rebuilding the Country for Its People, the Middle East, and the World by Joseph Braude ISBN: 0465007880 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 25 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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