I'm not inclined to self-promotion, often--truly, but I will mention my book, here: "Shifting Sands; A Clash of Cultures"

It's not non-fiction, fact-based--but a novel. It tells the story of a fictional Saudi Arab man, thrown into the clash between the Western cultures and the Middle Eastern cultures.

It won't give you facts you can quote, but it was written to help the reader achieve a better understanding of the on-going conflict between two dispirate cultures and how we might be able to eventually resolve that conflict.

I lived and worked in the Middle East for many years. I watched as we began to pit our two cultures one against the other. I've spent my adult life seeing where we were headed and felt I had to write the book to give some insight into this difficult situation. If you're looking for understanding or a just a good story, you might try it.

A good book about the first 1-2 years in Iraq is: Imperial Life in the Emerald City:Inside Iraq's Green Zone. It covers the reign of Paul Bremer and the CPA. I kept thinking "Why the h*ll did they do that?!" throughout the entire book.

My Forbidden Face:Growing Up Under the Taliban, is not extremely well written, but is a real and disturbing account of what life was like for a woman during the Taliban rule.

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein is an amazing book that we have discussed here before. I have this book and have seen Naomi speaking in person and also on TV: Charlie Rose, Colbert Report, Bill Maher, etc. The interviews are available on Youtube.
She is most intelligent, articulate and brave!

Thanks. I went to the library and picked up:

Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq, by the man who broke the Abu Ghraib story

No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah

My War: Killing Time in Iraq

I'll see how they go. I've been asking around and received some other recommendations. I'll post them in case someone else is looking to study up on current events, too:

Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency - This has gotten really great reviews

Here, Bullet - poetry.

The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq - by a National Guardsman who joined to pay for college, not to fight a war

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations from Iraq Vets Against the War

Also
The Mess They Made: The Middle East After Iraq

Gwynne Dyer has a couple of books about IraqAfter Iraq: Where Next for the Middle East?
After Iraq

Have any of you read any of the recent books about the Iraq or Afghanistan wars? What did you think?

Hit me up with your suggestions for commentary on the war(s). I'm looking to understand what happened on the ground, especially in Fallujah, some of the deeper darker administration secrets that let the whole thing commence, and analysis of the resistance, in Iraq, around the world, and in the states. Not particularly interested in history that goes beyond the past 10-15 years.

If you've read any good books on other current events, let me know those too.