Shaku Maku: On the Ground in Occupied Baghdad Book

Your tax dullards at work!I began my year in Baghdad's Red Zone wrapped in a flak jacket, Kevlar under-shorts, and hope that I could create a small beachhead for economic sanity in an ocean of madness. With a raised eyebrow, I arrived more curious than fearful. Over time, I increasingly came to understand that I had deluded myself. I ended my work with eyes downcast. I was angry, cynical, and frustrated. Though I went to Iraq with gifts I never got to give, I received gifts I did not expect. I had fun and made friends. I observed that people often worked sincerely and hard and for good reasons, but that meaning well and doing well, are, well, two different things. Baghdad was a crucible that fused work and hope. In this book, I observe the oddities and ironies of daily life on the ground in Iraq with humor, perspective, and originality.Read More