Understanding Iraq: The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation

by William R. Polk

The Dramatic History of Iraq in One Concise Volume The destinies of Iraq and America will be tightly intertwined into the foreseeable future due to the U.S. incursion into this complex, perplexing desert nation -- the latest in a long history of violent outside interventions. A country sitting atop the world's largest supply of crude oil, Iraq will continue to play an essential role in global economics and in Middle Eastern politics for many decades to come. Therefore, it is more important than ever for Westerners to have a clear understanding of the volatile, enigmatic "Land of Two Rivers" -- its turbulent past and its looming possibilities. In this acutely penetrating and endlessly fascinating study, acknowledged Middle East authority William R. Polk presents a comprehensive history of the tumultuous events that shaped modern Iraq, while offering well-reasoned judgments on what we can expect there in the years to come.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East, Politics, War, World History, Audiobook

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

William R. Polk taught Arabic literature and history at Harvard University and the University of Chicago, served on the Policy Planning Council under President Kennedy, negotiated the Egyptian-Israeli Suez ceasefire, and founded the Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs. He has written nineteen books.

Reviews

[K.M. Weiland]

Highly readable and insightful, although already a bit dated in its final conclusions.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick & informative read, with further readings suggested by the author.

It's difficult to be simultaneously very thorough and concise, but the author achieves a satisfactory balance.

I especially liked the book's non-partisan aspect.

Recommended to anyone with an interest in any of the following:
- general history
- middle eastern history
- current events

Also recommended: William R. Polk's companion book (of sorts), Understanding Iran: Everything You Need to Know, From Persia to the Islamic Republic, From Cyrus to Ahmadinejad and, for the dedicated history buffs, Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East.

[Eli · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ chapter four of six.

Well, this book is about 220 pages long. And it attempts to cover the history of Iraq. Like... the whole history. That's impossible. This book is way too compressed to effectively cover much ground for what Polk was aiming for.

He dedicates one chapter to each period in Iraq: Ancient Iraq, Muslim Iraq, British Iraq, Revolutionary Iraq, and American Iraq. The final chapter functions as a conclusion.

It's obvious after reading roughly 100 pages that William R. Polk knows what he is talking about, and he has amazing credentials for this. However, the information was so crammed together that I barely got faint ideas of what Iraq was like before the Common Era.

I saw plenty of good reviews for this book, but alas, mine is not one of them.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good. The author has lived in Iraq on and off since the 1950s. He was troubled by the 2nd Iraq/US war and hoped to give people a little better understanding. Written in 2006, it doesn't seem anyone listened as most of his predictions have come unfortunately true. He starts at the very beginning (a very good place to start). The country currently known as Iraq was where farming originated. It was where writing originated. It was where written law originated. It has been involved in the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan, the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire and now the American Empire. The ancient history was fascinating but the second half of the book was basically a plea to Americans to try to at least consider history in their stupid foreign policy. Consider this: Russia was all tied up in trying to control this territory and the spent so much money and sent so many men to Iraq that they likely made the Soviet Revolution possible. Some fat British dude named Winston Churchill got caught up there without bothering to study anything and guess what? There is no British Empire anymore. And now we continue to make to make the same mistake in our longest war to date. Dumb. Anyways, not to be all negative I learned some positive things as well (although many of the positive things were allowed to be destroyed and pillaged by my government... who needs priceless relics and history when you've got Halliburton stock?)

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The purpose of this volume is straightforward (page xi): ". . .I am trying to give as complete a 'portrait' of Iraq as is now possible so that readers can evaluate the often confusing daily events. . . . I believe that knowing about events over-time is crucial to a perception of the present."

This book has several strengths in outlining Iraqi history: (1) it is brief and gives a sense of the sweep of Iraqi history in a way that can be digested well; (2) the history begins much earlier than other books on Iraqi history, going back to ancient times, about 6,000 BC; (3) it provides some context for examining the American occupation of Iraq after its invasion in 2003; (4) it is well written.

The downside is a mirror image: The historical coverage is quite brief and sometimes important events get short shrift. There is one page on the Assyrian empire, providing almost no detail. This is where other books can be more illuminating, because of their greater coverage of shorter slices of time. Books by Catherwood ("Churchill's Folly"), Dodge ("Inventing Iraq") and Tripp ("A History of Iraq") provide much more depth, albeit over more restricted time periods.

The book is organized by historical period. Chapter 1 focuses on ancient Iraq (Akkadians, Assyrians, etc.). Chapter 2 focuses on Islamic Iraq. This is the story of the rise of Islam and the split within that religion between Sunni and Shia (not told as clearly as, for example, in Nasr's "The Shia Revival"). Nonetheless, it provides context. Chapter 3? British Iraq. Here, the story of the British Mandate and its problems in trying to manage Iraq, a nation created by fiat. Catherwood's work is very good in its detailing of this era. And so on, up to Chapter 5--"American Iraq." Here, Polk examines the American invasion and its aftermath. The book concludes with a chapter that explores where we are now and where are things likely to go and what should the United States do.

So, a good brief crisply written volume. What is sacrificed? Depth and detail. But each reader will have to determine the tradeoff between these.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the author intends, I think I can now say "aaah, I understand". The book is a good historical report on a land in constant contention that will have no parity among peoples. Just as there will not be a "fair" solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis, there will be no fair solution between the Assyrian Christians, Kurds, Sunnis, and Shias in Iraq. Some peoples' interests are going to be suppressed by others.

In the concluding analysis Mr. Polk is clearly biased against the Bush administration but unfortunately I do not find myself disagreeing with much of it. I do take exception to a claim that in no case has intervention resulted in a change to democracy - Polk is intimating that America has not had successs with military intervention. At first I agreed then reminded myself of a few enemies of our state who we defeated, then helped back on their feet: Japan, Germany, Italy, not to mention France(!) ha ha.

The title is the bottom line up front. We are mired in a bog of uncertainty that will probably not be solved in a manner of our choosing, despite our best and generally noble efforts.

[Gabriel Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really was a great introduction to the history of the area and its people. It can be a little biased against the GOP and how the current war has become a chaotic mess. As a whole the book is very enlightening for anyone wanting to receive a quick lesson about Iraq.

[Khalidalbanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read of the history of Iraq, which starts from ancient Iraq and ends at the aftermath of the 2004 US invasion.

[Mustafa Basree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike many other historians who tell the history in a page or so, William Polk, takes you through the Iraqi history in an interestingly and excitingly approach! First he divides the book into substantial chapters: ancient Iraq, Islamic Iraq, British Iraq, Revolutionary Iraq, and American Iraq and he dedicated the last chapter to 'whose Iraq?' Indeed he opens the books with the people who inhabited the Mesopotamia and takes you all the way to civilizations, wars, coups, to modern Iraq. As you go in reading the book, you will see the connection between Iraq back in the 1920s, under the British occupation, and Iraq now, under the American occupation, and seemingly the American administration has not read the Iraqi history pretty well!

For those who wonder what's going on in Iraq now, I recommend this book to read. For those who want to excel the American and British greedy politics, I recommend this book. For those who want to know how Iraqi people think, I recommend this book!

In the first chapter he talks about Ubaidans and how they brought about to what was known as 'The Fertile Crescent' and how they developed the world's first agricultural society and how they brought about the more complex form of society among Arab and, later, non-Arab people. Also brings the notions of different invaders: Mongols, Ottomans and so forth. The second chapter is about the First World War, the Arab revolt, and the British mandate. By reading the lines of this chapter you get the sense of what was really going on. How British, Iraqis, the government and Arabs thought. The third chapter is the revolutionary Iraq: coups! The many coups Iraq had during the short period of time. From a monarchy to a republican government, Qasim, the Arif brothers, AlBakir and Saddam. He illustrates, in details, the Iraqi streets at that time – especially the evolving of pan-Arab parties and ideologies. The fourth is called The American Iraq: basically the period of 1990 up to 2005. 1990 because obviously, unfortunately, America was controlling Iraq and neighboring countries along with its allies – so Iraq wasn’t free, economically and politically. And then, he dedicates the last chapter to give his opinion on what is going on and what will happen in the future and talks about the pros and cons of the two choices that America has to make.

It's a comprehensive, thorough reference to Iraq. As he, himself, William Polk, lived in Baghdad 50 years ago, and went back and forth up till February, 2003, he knows exactly in details the secret dealings between Americans, the British and the Arab world. It’s a must read.

[Colby Treadwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understanding Iraq is a book people should read because not just does it teach you about history it also brings you through some of the toughest things and challenges in life for people. This book is a challenging book because you must have some understanding of history and what Iraq actually is. this book would be a great recommendation for people who find some interest in how tough and different the military is from everyday living. I enjoyed this book because it gave me a great understanding of how the author wanted there point to be across the description and scenery detail was a great way to picture what was going on.

[Mike Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's a damn shame that so few people have read this, as evidenced by there being only one review in Goodreads. Because this is the short history of Iraq that explains so much about current events there and in neighboring countries. If our political and military leaders had taken the time to learn about Iraq and the Iraqis, we wouldn't have gotten into the mess we're in now.
Why read Understanding Iraq now? Because it's interesting, well written and concise, and it will inform a reader's understanding of current events in Iraq.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a relatively easy read, with a concise history of a country that I know so little about (and has such huge implications for modern foreign policy and our incoming president). I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know a bit more about an important (and confusing!) part of the world.

[Yvonne Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives the history of Iraq and pulls from lessons learned from history -- or should have learned but ignore. Shows why American war in Iraw is wrong plus enumerated deceitful actions ofmen in our government

[Jennifer Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very concise,packed with information of Iraq since ancient times!

[Dan Sumption · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Polk has a long history with Iraq - having first visited in the 1940s, lived there in the 50s, advised the Kennedy Goverment on Middle Eastern policy in the 60s, and visited often since, maintaining close contacts with Iraqis.

His book clearly has an agenda: to inform Americans of the complexities of Iraq, and the catastrophic errors made in the 2003 invasion. To do this, he talks readers through the whole of Iraq's history, from around 12,000BC up to 2005, when the book was written. He rushes through the first 14,000 years or so ("Ancient Iraq" and "Islamic Iraq") and as a result, these sections read rather like an undergraduate essay: packed with facts, but with little context or explanation. When he reaches the 20th and 21st centuries ("British Iraq", "Revolutionary Iraq" and "American Iraq") the writing improves greatly and Polk's deep understanding of his subject is clear.

The book's ending ("Whose Iraq?") paints a bleak picture of the country's future, as seen from 2005, and indeed many of Polk's predictions have proved true. By the end of the book I was left feeling a huge "if only...". The Chapter on American Iraq makes it clear just how little planning went into the invasion, and just how ideologically driven it was by Donald Rumsfeld and the Neo-Conservatives of George W Bush's administration. Because of their greed for oil, the world is undergoing its greatest instability in a century (and it's stunning how many parallels there are between America's cock-ups in Iraq and British actions almost a century earlier).

A side-note: the introductory "Note on Words and Spelling" is one of the most enlightening things I have read on middle-eastern society since before the Iraq conflict. In setting out some of the differences between Semitic and Indo-European languages, it casts a whole new light on Arabic terms such as "jihad" and "mushtahid", and their inadequate western newspaper translations.

[Mike Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one caught my eye at the library when I was looking for books about ancient Sumer and the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Considering I didn’t know anything at all about Iraq in between Ancient Babylon and Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, this was a great overview into the history of Iraq. WWI and WWII had something to do with Iraq? That wasn’t brought up in my anglocentric high school history classes.

Obviously, in just over 200 pages, it’s impossible to give an in-depth look at 6,000 years of history, but the author does a good job of giving you a taste of Iraq and a flavor of who the people are. I need to dig deeper into Shia vs Sunni and what makes them so different, as well as understanding who the Kurds are - but Polk did a fine job of giving me a table of contents for my continuing exploration on who the Iraqi people are.

The biggest downside to the book (because I’m looking at the limited depth as a positive) is that it was published in 2005, so I also need to learn more about how the final Bush years and the Obama years and how they continued American involvement in the mid-east impacts the country. It also glosses over what has become of the ancient ruins of Sumerian and Babylonian cities like Ur, Uruk, and Ninevah since they were uncovered by western archeologists in the 1800s. I’d like to know more about how the Iraqi government and people look at their own history.

What some people may view as a negative, but I rather enjoyed, is the author’s extreme bias. He lived in Iraq for years and years, giving him an insight other westerners wouldn’t have. He is very opinionated about British and American involvement in the country’s politics and military affairs, and I liked getting his unique perspective on a county I knew so little about.

[Michael Vick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book up to the last two chapters, mostly the American Iraq chapter. Polk argues that the Neo-conservatives conjured up the War in Iraq completely over oil...and I would most certainly never argue that oil was not and is not a factor. But to argue that the Neo-conservatives instigated the American entrance into both Desert Storm and the subsequent war in Iraq is akin to a conspiracy theory such that of the Illuminate or that Jews control the whole world to include the U.S. I might add that the belief that Jews control the U.S. and Europe is a common conspiracy theory many Iraqi embrace, and I speak from experience having served in Iraq to almost two years saving at the highest level of Iraq government. Dr. Polk clearly is biased and too closely connected to the conservative base of the Iraq people, which is somewhat ironic knowing that he espouses very liberal views. He fails to acknowledge all of positive contributions of the United States in most of the world to include such places as South Korea, Japan, Philippines, etc. I do agree with Dr. Polk that Iraq needs to find their own identity, their own voice; however, there is not reason that they kind find their voice with Western assistance. It's not a fair comparison of the British occupation to the US intervention in Iraq.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polk flies through 2,000 years of Iraqi history in 200 pages, with 1/3 of it dedicated to the last 150 years. And no, it’s not terribly detailed, but it’s not supposed to be. Polk draws out some useful ideas and themes and connects them to what we see in Iraq today. I enjoyed the flyover, and learned a few things too. His conclusions for the Iraq war aren’t terribly relevant now, 15 years later, but it was interesting to see his view of the situation before AQI showed up and changed everything.

[Y Kanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly readable. Polk worked in Iraq and Iraq related events for 50 years and it shows. The book is perfect for anyone who has an interest in reading into Iraq but doesnt know too much. The book covers most of the important events of Iraqi history. The book also gives you an idea on how Iraqi mentality towards the west came to be, but it can be a little outdated as the book was published in 2006. The book doesnt go into depth in many things such as the state itself. Overall a great read for anyone interested into Iraq, especially people who dont know that much.

[Matt Gosney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect succinct compilation to understand the mentality of Iraqi culture. It is though, as you would expect not comprehensive and you would need to read further. There are books on Iraqi history and books on Saddam, you will need to follow up on those. It did however give me a better understanding of the relationship with the US. Recommended.

[Razorback_18c · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anti Bush Book

The book starts and ends with a major theme; Anti Bush. The book has great facts sprinkled in the middle and had potential until opinion from the author over road the facts.

[David Brawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read and concise overview of Iraqi history. The author does a good job showing how history can repeat. Of course reading this 20 years after it was published, and knowing how it's turned out makes the last chapter rather sad.

[J.K. George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book club selection by our of our club's smartest academics. Great overall history. How this land has been broken and splintered by war and cliques and religion and lack of modernity is tragic.

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendid narrative both sweeping and concise.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great basic overview of Iraq's history up until 2005.

[داليا روئيل]

كتاب متحيز جدا للاكراد دون فهم الحقيقة
معلومات خاطئة بنسبة كبيرة
احزن لان هناك كتاب ومؤلفون افضل ولكن الاجنبي يشتهر دائما

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

great short history but had nothing i needed in it 😋

[Summer Vespestad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting; ended up feeling a little like policy driven. Not sure what to believe.

[Kristel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reason read: War Room; American Follies. This is a great way to fill in the blanks. The author gives the history, the culture as well as the politics of the area in this concise, easy to follow book.

[Michael Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more than a history book; it is delving into the reasons that are behind Iraq's complicated history. The author has done a magnificent job explaining the Iraqi psyche.