A really thought-provoking and emotional read. The writing flowed well, almost like fiction, and I often found myself losing track of time while reading. Rageh Omaar empathetically conveys the reality of life for civilians both before, during and after the US-UK occupation, and clearly deeply feels for all the people he met and friends he made during his time there. I was a child when the invasion took place and so only ever had surface level knowledge of what happened; as such, reading this book was a real eye-opener for me. Thank you, Rageh, for helping me to understand better and for writing this much needed account of the people this war was supposed to be about.
A really interesting piece of journalism and a close and intimate look at a period of recent history about which my knowledge was previously very limited. It really brought home to human cost of the Iraq War, while also placing the stories of ordinary people into an international context.