Ali Hussain Muhsin Al-Wardi (Arabic: علي الوردي) was an Iraqi sociologist and public intellectual specialized in the field of social history.
Born in Kadhimiya, Baghdad in 1913, to a religious and very traditional family. He grew up defying his family's strict non-modern-educational policy, where his father wanted him to learn a craft instead of reading books. Nevertheless, Al-Wardi grew up with a disliking for work and crafts and a strong liking for books.
He managed to finish his elementary and high school and was awarded the number one student in the Kingdom of Iraq. He later was appointed as a teacher in different elementary and high schools across Iraq, before winning a scholarship to the American University of Beirut, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1943. He was back in Iraq and was forced into marriage per his father's orders.
A few years later, he traveled to the United States to attain his master's and PhD degrees. He earned his master's degree in 1948 from The University of Texas and his PhD in 1950 from the same university. During that time he used to spend his summers in the United Kingdom learning English in available institutes.
كانت رحلة ممتعة في قراءة مقالات علي الوردي (في المجلدات الثلاثة)، حيث استمتعت بتحليل آرائه والاطلاع على ردوده على منتقديه. كما كان من المثير للاهتمام مراجعة النقد الذي وجهه إليه من يخالفونه الرأي.
هذا الكتاب المكون من ثلاث أجزاء جمع فيه طارق الحمداني كتابات علي الوردي في المجلات والصحف العراقية والعربية التي كتب فيها من 1944 حتى وفاته عام 1995
وفي هذا الجزء الأول ينقسم الكتاب إلى قسمين الأول في المرحلة الأولى 1944-1957 والثانية في المرحلة الثانية 1958-1970 وكل حديث المقالات تدور حول تقريباً نفس المواضيع الذي يدور فكر الوردي وإنتاجه الفكري حولها من ضمن ذلك صراع البداوة والحضارة والمنطق القديم والمنطق الجديد وطبيعة المجتمع العراقي والنزاع الذي حدث في صدر الإسلام
بالإضافة إلى ذلك ردوده على من رد على كتبه وانتقدها