Iraq will continue to be a major issue and involvement for the United States into the foreseeable future says William R. Polk, former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council and professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago. Iraq sits on the world's largest supply of oil, and with the world's energy requirements continuously rising, Iraq will play an ongoing role in the global economy and the political environment throughout the Gulf region and the Middle East. Polk's concise, authoritative overview of Iraq's history shows how the pattern of outside intervention was established first by the Ottoman Turks and the Persian Safavids and later by England, Russia, and Germany. After World War I came British rule, followed by a brief and uneasy period of independence that sparked Iraqi nationalism, leading Saddam Husain to power with American military and financial aid and covert CIA involvement. The Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait was followed by the Gulf War, the sanctions period, and the Bush administration's decision to invade. Finally, there is the American occupation and the challenges, opportunities, and options that Iraqis and Americans face now and in the future. Polk's distinguished 60-year career of diplomatic and academic intimacy with the Middle East grants him unique authority on his subject and puts this book head and shoulders above other analyses. Demystifying Iraq's deep roots with deep respect, Polk addresses each chapter of Iraq's perpetually turbulent history, from the first stirrings of human civilization to Islamic empire, British colonization, secular revolution, and, finally, the current American occupation. He emphasizes continuities amid crises. "One of the most striking features of the Iraqis," he reminds us, is that "even when they forget their past, they preserve or re-create it." Others forgetting the past may repeat it, he suggests, pointing to similarities between British and American intentions. The author's memory, however, remains sharp, and his personal proximity to several key figures both pre- and post-Saddam Hussein will occasionally drop readers' jaws. Critical of "neoconservative" strategy and steeped in a half-century of cold war-era pragmatism, Polk's suggestions for the future are as nuanced as his analysis of the past. Candid, concise, and highly recommended; make a definite effort to place this in the hands of your politically- and current-events-minded readers. Brendan Driscoll Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “Polk’s principal criticism of the American assault on Iraq is that its leaders, both political and military, showed no understanding of Iraq’s history or culture or social patterns. Understanding Iraq may still do something to correct the ignorance and misunderstandings of the recent past. The book is both comprehensive and admirably concise.” - Michael Adams, Former Middle East Correspondent for The Guardian Iraq will continue to be a major issue and involvement for the United States into the foreseeable future says William R. Polk, former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council and professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago. Iraq sits on the world's largest supply of oil, and with the world's energy requirements continuously rising, Iraq will play an ongoing role in the global economy and the political environment throughout the Gulf region and the Middle East. Polk's concise, authoritative overview of Iraq's history shows how the pattern of outside intervention was established first by the Ottoman Turks and the Persian Safavids and later by England, Russia, and Germany. After World War I came British rule, followed by a brief and uneasy period of independence that sparked Iraqi nationalism, leading Saddam Husain to power with American military and financial aid and covert CIA involvement. The Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait was followed by the Gulf War, the sanctions period, and the Bush administration's decision to invade. Finally, there is the American occupation and the challenges, opportunities, and options that Iraqis and Americans face now and in the future. William R. Polk taught Middle Eastern history and politics and Arabic at Harvard until 1961, when he became a member of the Policy Planning Council of the U.S. Department of State. In 1965, he became Professor of History at the University of Chicago, where he established the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. His many books include The Birth of America and Understanding Iraq . Understanding Iraq The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the Ameri By Polk, William Roe HarperCollins Publishers ISBN: 0060764686 Chapter One Ancient Iraq Ancestors of inhabitants of today's Iraq began to emerge fromthe long shadows of prehistory about twelve thousand years ago.We cannot see them clearly, but we