A Soldier's Story: From Ottoman Rule to Independent Iraq

Rating:
Summary: Arab hero; wonderful book
Review: I recently met the author of Mayada, Daughter of Iraq, and made the wonderful discovery that Jafar Al-Askari, a great Arab hero, is the paternal grandfather of Mayada. It's a wonderful edition to Mayada and I plan on recommending this book to many people. The Al-Askari family was indeed special and had Mayada's grandfather lived (he was assasinated in 1936 when serving as Defense Minister of Iraq)I believe that Iraq's history would have been very different.

This story about Mayada's grandfather is wonderful. I do recommend it, along with the story of Mayada. (That one written by Jean Sasson.)

Rating:
Summary: The Grandfather of Mayada Al-Askari
Review: I recently met the author of Mayada, Daughter of Iraq, and made the wonderful discovery that Jafar Al-Askari, a great Arab hero, is the paternal grandfather of Mayada. It's a wonderful edition to Mayada and I plan on recommending this book to many people. The Al-Askari family was indeed special and had Mayada's grandfather lived (he was assasinated in 1936 when serving as Defense Minister of Iraq)I believe that Iraq's history would have been very different.

This story about Mayada's grandfather is wonderful. I do recommend it, along with the story of Mayada. (That one written by Jean Sasson.)

Rating:
Summary: Arab hero; wonderful book
Review: Jafar Al-Askari was a man to admire and he is a man that all Arabs should be proud to call their own. Jafar was one of the bravest soldiers of World War II, out-witting all the Western generals (he fought against the British with the Germans and after the Ottoman Sultan murdered many of his friends, he came to see that Arab lands would never know freedom under the Ottomans; then he switched sides and fought WITH the British.) He won the highest medals from both the German Army and the British Army, and was greatly admired by soldiers from both countries.

This was a man who was so brilliant that he wowed the biggest statesmen of the world. While serving Iraq as Foreign Minister to Iraq, he obtained his law degree in England and became a barrister!

In 1936, Jafar returned to Iraq at the request of the Prime Minister, who happened to be his brother-in-law, and best friend, Nouri Al-Said, the man who ruled Iraq (under King Faisal I, II, and King Ghazi I). Tragically, Jafar was the first of the Iraqi Ministers assassinated, setting off a stream of events that led to Saddam Hussein, the first Gulf War and the second Gulf War. Had Jafar lived, it is believed that the formation of modern day Iraq would have had a much better outcome. Certainly, the wars fought by Iraq against Iran, Kuwait, and the Western governments would have been avoided. Think of the lives that would have been saved if only this one man had lived. Jafar was a statesman who believed in compromise, and he would have led Iraq in a different, more peaceful direction.

This man was the grandfather of the modern day Mayada Al-Askari, whose story is told in Mayada, Daughter of Iraq. Jafar was killed before Mayada was born, but she was told about the wonderful Jafar by her own beloved father, Nizar. Mayada lived in Iraq under the brutal Saddam, and escaped after being falsely arrested and thrown into prison.

These two books, A Soldier's Story, and Mayada, Daughter of Iraq, should be required reading. Both books are lively and entertaining, yet filled with so many interesting Iraqi antedotes that if a reader was to read these two books ONLY, that person would receive an entertaining education on Iraq, and much of the Arab world.

I highly recommend these two books. I hope everyone who reads this review takes my advice. You won't regret it.

Also: Both books are perfect gifts for soldiers in the field, those brave men and women who are putting their lives on the line.