Product Description

In "Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge", the author draws on his own knowledge of and extensive contacts within the Arab world to produce both a thorough biography and a penetrating psychological profile of the most powerful and unpredictable man in the world today. He explains why Saddam behaves as he does by suggesting that his life has been marked by a series of personal quests: for recognition after being orphaned and brought up by a destitute uncle; for control of his country; for leadership of the Arab world; for mastery of the technology of destruction, and who now fights for Iraq's survival. This is the chilling story of how the man who, with the encouragement of western governments, made his country the most advanced in the Arab world in the 1970s, and through personal ambition led it to disaster at the end of the 1980s, now fights for its survival.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #367737 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
'A brilliant Arab-Western examination - by one uniquely placed - of the psychology and makeup of one of the world's political phenomena, in clear historical context, written with pace, detail, and a host of witnesses and sources' SUNDAY TRIBUNE 'Powerful. Aburish provides shameful details of Western complicity, cynical and mostly clandestine, in Saddam's reign of terror' HERALD 'The hypocrisy and amorality of Western policy make uncomfortable reading Aburish's unmatched contacts in the Middle East enable him to provide a rare glimpse into the secret world of Saddam. A chilling biography' OBSERVER

About the Author
Said K. Aburish was born in the biblical village of Bethany near Jerusalem in 1935. He has been a consultant to two Arab governments, and is now a journalist and author living in London. His books include Children of Bethany; The Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud; and Arafat: From Defender to Dictator.

Customer Reviews

Authoritative account of the life and times of Saddam Hussei
Saddam Hussein has been demonised in the West to such an extent that it's become almost impossible to separate the truth from the propaganda so cheerfully dispensed by the media. In this book, Said Aburish takes us from Saddam's humble beginnings, starting with an explanation of his name - trust me its more revealing than it sounds - all the way up to the present. Saddam's rise through the ranks of the Ba'ath party and his exile in Cairo are all dealt with well, showing what shaped the man who later come to be regarded as a kind of Arab reincarnation of Hitler.

But this is just one side of the story of what made Saddam Hussein the man he is. The other of course, is the support he received from the West, primarily the US. Saddam's weapons deals with the US, UK and France are dealt with conclusively, as are his crimes against his own people at the same time as these deals were taking place, showing up the incredible hypocrisy of what we have been hearing from the governments of these countries since 1990. The cynicism of the US government in supporting Iraq with weapons deals during the war with Iran, whilst also ensuring that Iran remained strong enough to keep fighting is staggering. The amount of lives lost on both sides didn't matter to Western governments as it kept their arms industries ticking over nicely and kept both countries weak, confirming Israel as the regions number one military power.

The most fascinating part of the book comes with the lead up to the Gulf War. The facts are presented to allow the reader to make up his/her own mind on what was the real cause of the war. There is ample evidence to suggest the US and UK used Kuwait to goad Saddam into invading, thus sealing his fate as they refused to accept his proposal of a complete withdrawal without attaching humiliating conditions which a popularly elected government would have found hard to accept, never mind an autocrat who wields power over his people through force.

The war of 'surgical precision' which followed is well documented, as are the horrors which US-led sanctions have caused to the people of Iraq, who apparently the US government have "no quarrel with". Any Americans who want to know why many Arabs show such animosity towards them should look no further than the account of the popular uprising which followed Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War. As the people rose up against Saddam, the Americans shamefully refused to help them and even allowed Saddam to use helicopters to put down the uprising while they looked on. The reason: a popular government of the people would have been a threat to US/Israeli hegemony in the Middle East, they wanted a strong man like Saddam to take over, only one who would be more obedient.

For anyone who wants a glossy read which you won't have to think much about, buy the latest Tom Clancy novel. For anyone who wants to read the authoritative account of the life of Saddam Hussein and the tragedy that has been visited upon the Iraqi people since he took power in 1979, look no further than this.

Saddam hussein, - tyrant?
This book while at times quite exhausting due to over-detail, is quite a good account of the infamous Saddam. Very fair, almost totally un-opinionated and very reliable considering the author. For anyone looking for a quick overview of saddams life this is certainly not for you. However, anyone interested in middle east politics and deeply interested in Iraq and saddam should not hesitate to purchase.

Well written account of Iraq's plight
This is a well written and fascinating biography written with the style and flair we have come to expect from Mr Aburish. He enjoys his controversial subject matter, and is particularly helpful in tracing the role of the US and Britain in building up Saddam Hussein from the coups of 1963 and 1968 to the 'tilt to Iraq' (against Khomeini's Iran) in the 1980 and beyond. Aburish is particularly interesting in explaining how Saddam so badly misread the Americans over the 1990 Kuwait crisis (and indeed how the Americans so badly misread Saddam). His own involvement in Iraq's overseas procurement activities gives the book another intriguing dimension.
For anyone who really wants to know how the land that produced the world's first civilisation came to its current sorry state, this is perhaps the first book to read. None of the political players emerges with any credit.