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Rating: Summary: A commendable effort Review: I found WITNESS IRAQ to be a commendable effort. It is the first photojournalist account of the war with Iraq that I have found to depict the horrific suffering of the Iraqi civilians. And some of the images are quite horrific. The two images that come to mind as the most difficult are: the image of an Iraqi boy, age 4-6, who lost both his arms in the bombing, as well as his entire family; the image of the charred remains of an Iraqi civilian sitting behind the wheel of his car. The other aspect of WITNESS IRAQ that I find commendable is the image of the plundered Iraq Museum, along with the companying text that explains that, though the museum contains relics dear to all of humanity, the first site to be safeguarded by military personnel was an oil plant. Other telling pictures include an image of an American soldier draping the US flag over a statue of Saddam (an image that appears to symbolize conquest rather than liberation), and an image of a US soldier urinating on a mural of Saddam. WITNESS IRAQ is commendable because it tears away the pretense that war, in any context, is a pleasant occurance.
Rating: Summary: NOT SO ENGAGING Review: there isn't much good to say about this book .. the quality of the images is poor abd the narrative is non existent. There are far better books out there addressing the war in iraq. This one just misses.
Rating: Summary: Not pretty, somewhat delusional... Review: This coffeetable book contains graphic images of the Iraq war. Its visually engaging, I will give it credit for that. Its also a clear warning to any country that would like to threaten the USA. Where it goes wrong is that it paints an overly rosy picture of the aftermath of the war. This is war the way Bush the Junior and Rumsfeld would like you to see it. The book shows grateful Iraqis hugging and kissing US soldiers. I think we know by now that not everybody in Iraq is that happy to see us there and we face a potential Vietnam-like quagmire unless we can assemble a coalition of nations to secure and pacify Iraq. The book graphically shows the results of Saddam's megalomania and his total disregard for his own people. Too bad we only have to look to North Korea to find another despot all too eager to throw his own people "under the bus".
Rating: Summary: Plagarisim Review: While many of the photographs in this book are excellent, I need to point out the the acompanying text with this book has been mostly plagarized from various on-line web diaries. It's likely that the photographers who contributed to this book would probably scream bloody murder if someone lifted thier work from the internet and published it for profit under someone elses name. It's a shame that they can't show the same respect to a text author who's work happens to appear on-line. Just because something is written on a web page instead of in a newspaper or magazine does not mean that the work is in the public domain. Shame on the editor & publisher of this book. I hope they get sued for a zillion dollars.
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