What do you think?
Rate this book
Iraq: An Illustrated History
Sumptuously illustrated and documented history of the country where writing was first invented, and the center of the Arab Golden Age.
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2003
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 19, 2019
Great and simple history book of Iraq with pictures!
June 4, 2015
Review title: Maybe leapyear over this one?
I finished this book on that rarest of days that only happens once every four years, February 29, and I felt like I could easily have leaped over this one too.
And it isn't so much the publication date (2004), which might have been a mark against it if it were a traditional travel guide book. Instead, Iraq uneasily straddles the space between a travel guide, a high-school level introduction to Iraqi history, a coffee-table book of sites and wonders of Iraq, and a glossy extended magazine feature on the evils of the United States and its attack on Iraq. Perhaps this last is to be expected from a French author, given the French opposition to most US actions in the Middle East, but it is persistently one-sided. For example, Munier frequently decries the looting of archeological digs and museums in the last decade in parallel with descriptions of US bombing in Iraq, a technique whereby without ever stating categorically who is doing the looting, it is easy for the reader to infer that the looting is all done by Americans. However, if you read closely, you can determine from the language and syntax that at least some of the looting is done by Iraqis in the tradition of tomb-robbing that has been going on in Iraq for millennia.
Which is really the sad fact I took from this book. There is an amazing amount of history here where the peoples of the Book (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) have crossed paths and weapons over all of recorded human history. Most of the shared story of where we came from and what we believe and why comes from this part of the world, and is literally laying about on the ground to be recovered, restored, viewed, and yes, looted and transported, much of it to the French, English, and German museums who sponsored the explosion of collecting expeditions in the 19th century. One could uncharitably ask the difference between looting and the Louvre.
So, this guide, a small format paperback with glossy pages, some pictures reduced in grandeur due to the size limitation, and some maps that highlight rivers and cities but don't provide roads, routes, or identify the location of historical sites, is
* too small to properly show the amazing places and people of Iraq
* too precursory to serve as a travel guide (perhaps not so much an issue for most English-speaking readers in relation to this particular country at this particuler time in its history)
* too short to provide a proper history of the country.
* too slanted to provide a real picture of recent history
If you really want a book for those other purposes, consider this an appetizer to the entrée.
I finished this book on that rarest of days that only happens once every four years, February 29, and I felt like I could easily have leaped over this one too.
And it isn't so much the publication date (2004), which might have been a mark against it if it were a traditional travel guide book. Instead, Iraq uneasily straddles the space between a travel guide, a high-school level introduction to Iraqi history, a coffee-table book of sites and wonders of Iraq, and a glossy extended magazine feature on the evils of the United States and its attack on Iraq. Perhaps this last is to be expected from a French author, given the French opposition to most US actions in the Middle East, but it is persistently one-sided. For example, Munier frequently decries the looting of archeological digs and museums in the last decade in parallel with descriptions of US bombing in Iraq, a technique whereby without ever stating categorically who is doing the looting, it is easy for the reader to infer that the looting is all done by Americans. However, if you read closely, you can determine from the language and syntax that at least some of the looting is done by Iraqis in the tradition of tomb-robbing that has been going on in Iraq for millennia.
Which is really the sad fact I took from this book. There is an amazing amount of history here where the peoples of the Book (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) have crossed paths and weapons over all of recorded human history. Most of the shared story of where we came from and what we believe and why comes from this part of the world, and is literally laying about on the ground to be recovered, restored, viewed, and yes, looted and transported, much of it to the French, English, and German museums who sponsored the explosion of collecting expeditions in the 19th century. One could uncharitably ask the difference between looting and the Louvre.
So, this guide, a small format paperback with glossy pages, some pictures reduced in grandeur due to the size limitation, and some maps that highlight rivers and cities but don't provide roads, routes, or identify the location of historical sites, is
* too small to properly show the amazing places and people of Iraq
* too precursory to serve as a travel guide (perhaps not so much an issue for most English-speaking readers in relation to this particular country at this particuler time in its history)
* too short to provide a proper history of the country.
* too slanted to provide a real picture of recent history
If you really want a book for those other purposes, consider this an appetizer to the entrée.
September 18, 2014
It may seem weird to read a guidebook to Iraq these days, but I spotted this at the New Hartford Library and thought it looked interesting. Written by a French travel writer before the last Iraq War, (with updates after the U.S. invasion) Munier chronicles Iraq's long, long history, from the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia to the British in very detailed prose and gives a thorough rundown of Iraq's historical, cultural and architectural wonders. Ancient ruins, old mosques, churches and palaces abounded, with some of the greatest archaeological sites in the world, now all sadly endangered by war and anarchy. Sad and informative.
May 8, 2016
Not exactly what I expected. Not very detailed maps. Look elsewhere for a comprehensive, in depth travel guide to Iraq.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews