(since January 08)

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Dr.Latif Yahia

author profile

url

http://www.goodreads.com/profile/latifyahia

born

June 14, 1964

gender

male

place of birth

"I am a citizen of the world"

website

http://www.arcanum-publishing.com

genre

Biographies & Memoirs, History

about this author

edit data

Latif Yahia written a couple of books, the first titled ( I Was Saddam's Son ) in 1994 have sold over one million copies worldwide in twenty languages. and the second ( The devil's double ) in 2003... and his New Book ( THE BLACK HOLE ) in 2006-2007 This Book has been banned in Books Stores in USA and IRELAND and he LIVE THERE, and all because hi didn't say nice things about The American CIA ..
Latif Yahia has earned a PhD in International Law and has studied Psychology,
Latif Yahia now lives in Ireland with his Irish wife and children, after fifteen years apart he is now reunited with his mother and has in his care his brothers two children, their mother was killed in Baghdad during "...more

books by Dr.Latif Yahia

combine editions
avg rating: 4.38 | 13 ratings | 8 distinct works

	I Was Saddam's Son (Hardcover) by Dr.Latif Yahia (goodreads author!), Karl Wendl avg rating 4.25 — 8 ratings — published 1997	my rating:
	The Black Hole: Latif Yahia Author of "I Was Saddam's Son" and "The Devil's Double" After his escape to the West reveals the role of the CIA in his Extraordinary ... in His Extraordinary and Chilling Life Story (Paperback) by Dr.Latif Yahia (goodreads author!) avg rating 5.00 — 2 ratings — published 2006	my rating:
	Ich war Saddams Sohn (Taschenbuch) by Dr.Latif Yahia (goodreads author!), Karl Wendl avg rating 4.00 — 2 ratings — published 2003	my rating:
	Ich war Saddams Sohn. Als Doppelgänger im Dienst des irakischen Diktators Hussein (Broschiert) by Dr.Latif Yahia (goodreads author!), Karl Wendl avg rating 5.00 — 1 ratings — published 1994	my rating:
	The Devil's Double (Paperback) by Dr.Latif Yahia (goodreads author!) avg rating 0.00 — 0 ratings — published 2003	my rating:

see all books by Dr.Latif Yahia »

Latif's writing

The Black Hole by Latif Yahia has been banned in Ireland and USA Book Shops? Author of "I Was Saddam's Son" and "The Devil's Double" After his escape to the West reveals the role of the CIA in his Extraordinary and Chilling Life Story. (Biographies & Memoirs)

1 chapters — updated 04/06/2008 05:32AM

description: Book Description From the Publisher. The Black Hole has been banned USA and in IRELAND.. is the next chapter in the extraordinary and chilling life story of author Latif Yahia. Having escaped the brutal Iraqi regime through Northern Iraq with the help of the CIA in 1992, Latif touched down in Austria. Having family in the pristine and picturesque city of Vienna, Latif is somewhat reassured that his life will be calmer now without Uday Saddam Hussein and his hedonistically violent lifestyle. Alongside Latif is Nusa, a hired girl, a plaything and ego boost for her Baghdadi clientele, although she has never been mentioned in Latif's past works the reasons for her concealment become apparent as the story unfolds. Unfortunately life was never to become the idyll that Latif desired, his knowledge or perceived knowledge of the inner Iraqi regime was to become his saviour and his tormentor. This, left him chained and unable to move forward, as much as he wished to forget, his handlers wanted to know more. Latif became almost a prized item in the world of International Intelligence with nearly all of the world's Intelligence agencies vying for his allegiance, his pleas for neutrality and normality unheard. Ultimately Latif was to pay the price for his uncooperative stance; ten and a half months were spent in a covert Austrian/CIA prison cell in solitary confinement, until by chance his freedom was assured by a visiting judge. One would think that after such events Latif's life may take a quieter turn, this was not to be the case, the game of cat and mouse that played out across the breadth of Europe was interspersed by the tragic death of Latif's beloved father, several assassination attempts and the murder of his first real love a Saudi Arabian Princess Latif Yahia's previous books have sold over one million copies worldwide in twenty languages.

The Devil's Double (Biographies & Memoirs)

1 chapters — updated 01/18/2008 05:53AM

description: Book Description In 1987, Latif Yahia was taken to Saddam’s headquarters to meet Uday, Saddam’s eldest son, and told that a great honour had been bestowed upon him: that because of the great likeness between them, he had been chosen to be Uday’s double. For many Iraqis it would have been the highlight of their lives, but for Latif, a peace-loving man who did not agree with Saddam’s brutal regime, it was not. He refused. Following a week of torture, and realising he would be killed if he continued to refuse, Latif was forced to accept the role. After a gruesome training programme during which he was made to watch over thirty films of torture, hours of tapes of Uday, and undertake a final remodelling of his appearance, Latif was deemed ready. But it was only after the final test, a meeting with Saddam himself, that Latif made his first public appearance. And so began his life as Uday’s double – a life on the perimeter of the inner circle of Saddam’s eldest son, a witness to the horror of his insane life of debauchery, excess and brutality, and an experience for which he almost paid with his life on more than one occasion.

The Hangman of Abu Ghraib :The true story of the man who became the hangman for the most notorious prison in the world. (Biographies & Memoirs)

1 chapters — updated 01/17/2008 02:42PM

description: Product Description The true story of the man who became the hangman for the most notorious prison in the world. Built originally in the early part of the 20th century, Abu Ghraib stood outside Baghdad as the general prison for the local poplulation, it housed the petty thief and the rapist, the murderer and the politician. When Saddam Hussein took hold of Iraq he needed someone to help him in his bid to cleanse Iraq of it s detritus, he needed someone to be his hangman. He found that man inside the walls of Abu Ghraib. This is his story.

Forty Shades of Conspiracy :illusion of Democracy in Europe and how the American CIA are behind Every Door of Power. (Biographies & Memoirs)

1 chapters — updated 01/17/2008 02:39PM

description: Product Description Forty Shades of Conspiracy The Sequel To The Black Hole, a True Story of the illusion of Democracy in Europe and how the American CIA are behind Every Door of Power. Latif Yahia was drawn to the Emerald Isle after remember what so many Doctors, Engineers and Contractors that he had met in Iraq had told him about their homeland. Looking for a country to take him in and welcome him as its own in 1997 Latif booked his flight to Dublin, Ireland's Capital city, using another assumed identity he went about destroying Latif Yahia and his Uday connections, surely this time he could be free of Iraq and all the pain that it had brought to him. Having settled into a comfortingly mundane routine Latif now Kaled was beginning to believe that maybe, just maybe this time it would work and he could finally live a quiet and normal life, hope unfortunately was to fade as his past caught up with him, but this time not in the form of the CIA, this time it was a woman and hell hath no fury like this woman scorned. Pandora's box was opened and all that Latif had hoped to leave behind came like a torrent, suddenly the Irish authorities were aware of his presence, with their close ties to America it did not take the CIA long to follow and the game continued... Because of his opposition to the war on Iraq in 2003 and the American's use of Shannon airport, Latif Yahia is still stateless after 16 years of exile in the West.

I Was Saddam's Son (Biographies & Memoirs)

1 chapters — updated 01/17/2008 02:20PM

description: From Library Journal In Iraq, where political leaders have traditionally been the targets of assassination, there exists an institution called fidai (body double). The author, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Saddam Hussein's oldest son, Uday, was pulled out of the front lines during the Iran-Iraq War and transformed into an exact likeness of Uday. From that vantage point he was, he reports, privy to all the machinations and horrific excesses perpetrated on the Iraqi people by the family and government of Saddam Hussein. After serving in that capacity from 1987 to 1991, Yahia was imprisoned and tortured before being released?then fled to Europe, where he still lives. The author's message seems to be a warning to the rest of the world: "If you thought Saddam was a cruel tyrant, just wait until Uday takes over!" Although this work is easy enough to read, it is filled with graphic details of torture, murder, and rape. Recommended only for large collections in the subject area.?David P. Snider, Casa Grande P.L., Ariz. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. PUBLISHER'S NOTE MAP OF IRAQ 1 ON THE IRANIAN FRONT 2 PARADISE IN HELL 3 THE BONDMAN 4 TRAINING TO BE UDAY 5 SADDAM HUSSEIN: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON 6 THE FIRST PERFORMANCE 7 THE FEAR OF ASSASSINATION 8 THE EXCESSES 9 THE KILLING BEGINS 10 THE DEATH OF THE FORETASTER 11 THE DUMB GIRL 12 THE KUWAIT RAID 13 EVERYBODY STOLE 14 THE BOMBS FALL ON BAGHDAD 15 THE AGONIES OF TORTURE 16 FLIGHT EPILOGUE: SO DID SADDAM HUSSEIN WIN?

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Latif's recent updates (rss)

May 24

Latif made a comment on Latif's profile:

Latif wrote: "HI Jeff,
Thank you very much for your comment, Amazon is the ONLY place where you will find my book ...more "

April 03

New comment on Latif's review of I Was Saddam's Son

Latif wrote: "When I wrote this book in arabic Language and the Devil's Double, I wrote it to inform the world of ...more When I wrote this book in arabic Language and the Devil's Double, I wrote it to inform the world of the horrors that not only I but the greater part of the Iraqi poulation were suffering.
It also helped to keep me safe in the West after my flight from Iraq because I was in open view of the media and if the Iraqi intelligence services had tried to abduct me it wouldn't have gone unnoticed. Although my life has been different since my flight fom Iraq in 1991, it has not always been safe and not just from the Iraqi intelligence services either, it became normal for me in the years after my escape to flee from one european country to another to save myself and my family, at one point I was imprisoned in Austria for ten and a half months without charge and without any records by the CIA. All of these things have been revealed in my latest book "The Black Hole" which is why you cannot find it in any bookstore in America or Ireland where I live with my Irish wife and three Irish children.
After seventeen years of exile in the West I am in a no-mans land as such, I am not Iraqi because the moment that I set foot on foreign soil my Iraqi citizenship was revoked and Ireland where I have lived for the best part of eleven years has refused my application for naturalistaion twice, why? well it may have something to do with Ireland's strong bond with America and the fact that I did not want to work for the CIA but I will leave that for you to decide.
I have no need to sensationalize my story, the truth is unbelievable enough, as it was once said "truth is stranger than fiction" I fight for the right to freedom of speech and humanity worldwide, no matter where we live, we must always remember that our governments work for us and remind them when they decide not to listen to us that that is the case. Yes Saddam was a monster, he did great things and terrible things but he did not attack the twin towers, he had no weapons of mass destruction and he hated Bin Laden with a passion, so we have saved Iraq from Saddam but have we saved it from itself? More people have died brutal horrible deaths since 2003 than died in the 35 years of Saddam's rule including the soldiers killed in the Iraq-Iran war, I feel partly responsible for that because my words were used as the portrait of Evil, which then became the poster for the War on Iraq, it was never my intention to harm my fellow countymen, my intention was to help them, I have failed miserably.....I personally have lost 145 members of my extended family and a sister-in-law, I now raise her two children with mine. I was also able to bring my mother out, it was such a joy to see her after fourteen years. Do not think that it was easy for me to get this done, there was no government help or special favours, I went through the same channels as everyone else and more.
I write my story to tell the world what is really happening, my royalties go to charity except for "I was Saddam's son" published by Arcade publishing New York, because it is not really my book, it was published without my authorization and the end chapter where Bushra goes back to Iraq with my children is a lie, I never wrote it nor do I receive royalties from it. If you really want the true story read "The Devil's Double" it contains the full story, "The Black Hole" is the sequel and is available on Amazon or http://www.arcanum-publishing....

Best regards,
Latif Yahia.

...less "

(see all 2 comments)

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Latif's videos

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THE DEVIL'S DOUBLE Latif Yahia / Uday Saddam Film in 2009

I speak to you directly on my Youtube channel.

Part 1 (I knew Saddam) AlJazeera English

Part 2 (I knew Saddam) AlJazeera English

Debate"One man's Freedom figher is another man's terrorist"Trinity College Dublin-Irland.

I Was The first Iraqi meets Shimon Peres in Israel for Peace.(never seen before footage)

The other side of the coin (never seen before footage)

Did you like this video? vote (1 person liked it)

quotes by Dr.Latif Yahia

"I Will Never give up my fight for free Speech and freedam and Justice around the world."
— Dr.Latif Yahia

tags: cia, iraq, ireland, latif-yahia, usa, war

0 people liked it

Latif's favorite quotes

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
— Albert Einstein

tags: einstein, human, humor, infinity, nature, philosophy, science, stupidity, universe

2239 people liked it

"Be the Change that you wish to see in the world."
— Mahatma Gandhi

tags: change, inspirational, philosophy, the, world

2215 people liked it

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."
— Mark Twain

tags: lies, lying, memory, truth

2116 people liked it

Latif's groups (recent posts)

Connectture — 50 members — last activity 06/19/2008 05:24AM
Connectture Members on Goodreads.

GOODREADS VOTING: BARACK AHEAD — 67 members — last activity 05/25/2008 09:42AM
anyone else curious how goodreads members would vote in the presidential election? below you'll see 4 topics: Barack; Clinton; McCain; Romney (no par...more

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest — 75 members — last activity 04/12/2008 05:39PM
My unpublished novel, DIG, has been selected as a semifinalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. If you are so inclined, you can post a review ...more

Spare Time Activities — 34 members — last activity 03/27/2008 04:04AM
There is a lot of emphasis on what kinds of books people tend to read, but I would like to see what people do in their spare time, if you have any!!! ...more

Latif's friend comments

showing 1-5 of 5. (add a comment | view all)

from Emm

20 days ago, 03:11AM

Thank you for adding me as a friend. I had not previously heard of your work but can now definitely add your books to my "to-read" list. I see that they are not stocked by my library (I live in London) which I guess is indicative of the censure you have been experiencing. I am trying to read anything I can on genocide in recent years and am thus really thankful for discovering you today.

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from Latif

05/24/2008 04:41AM

HI Jeff,
Thank you very much for your comment, Amazon is the ONLY place where you will find my book in the USA, it will not be found in any bookshop and you have no idea how much we had to fight to get Amazon to take it, It took nearly two years of them watching it on Amazon.uk to convince them. I am very happy that you have found it and passed the message on.
Yes there is freedom of press in America, but there is also something called Media blackout.Now, if you were to say that there is a free media in Ireland where I live then we would be here all day arguing, because there's not.
It might interest you to know that my royalties from the sale of this book go to a children's hospital in Ireland and although I would like the book to do well, I am not trying to generate sales but claiming it is Banned, I will give you another example, since I have published this book "The Black Hole" I have been refused citizenship here in Ireland twice without reason, I have a clean record and don't even have a parking ticket. I could go on...
Everything is documented.
As a mark of thanks I would like to offer you a signed copy of my book, just send me an address to mail it to and it's yours.
Thanks again and best regards,
Dr. Latif Yahia

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from Jeff

05/20/2008 05:31PM

"The Black Hole" has not been banned in the United States by governmental decree. It's possible that some stores have decided not to carry it, but that's very different from being banned.

Believe it or not, there is still freedom of the press in the United States (I am as surprised as anyone with the mentally defective grandson of a Nazi sympathizer/war-profiteer in the Oval Office), as you can see here:

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Ho...

I hope that this will help Americans who would like to read your book find it, rather than give up because they believe it can't be found here.

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from Natalia

02/11/2008 08:56AM

Hello, there. I just wanted to let you know, I added your book "I Was Saddam's Son" to my to-read list and am very excited to read it.

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from Daniel

01/30/2008 06:34AM

Dr. Latif Yahia, I've added your books I Was Saddam's Son, The Black Hole, The Devil's Double and your book in German Ich War Saddams Sohn to my to read list

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