Iraq Journal 2003

by Shane Claiborne

IRAQ JOURNAL 2003 is Shane Claiborne's account of his peacemaking trip to Iraq in March 2003, just before the US invasion. Told mostly through emails that he sent home, this book offers a gracious and humanizing depiction of the Iraqi people. Shane Claiborne is a member of the Simple Way community in Philadelphia and is also author of the recent book THE IRRESISTIBLE REVOLUTION (Zondervan 2006). From the rear "One of the children we are close to, Amal, decided to celebrate her 13th birthday with us! So we had a feast, grilled out in a park nearby... As we were playing a little game of balloon volleyball, bombs began to explode in the background. The adults all looked uneasily at each other, but we kept playing. Then one explosion hit very close. A couple of us huddled down with the little children... These children were raised hearing bombs, in 1998, in 1991... and yet they will still play in a park with the people whose country is destroying theirs... As bombs continued to thunder in the background, I was reminded once again that life is more powerful than death, that children can teach old tyrants and cynics how to love."

38 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. And now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty.

Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, his classic The Irresistible Revolution and his newest book, Executing Grace. He has been featured in a number of films including "Another World Is Possible" and "Ordinary Radicals." His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame.

Shane speaks regularly at denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe.