A History of Iraq - Tapa dura

Review of the first edition: 'Tripp offers a very readable account that presents the many different political figures, the ebb and flow of central government relations with Kurds and Shiites, and the ongoing regional and international coverage.' Foreign Affairs

'Charles Tripp has produced a well-written and well-researched overview of Iraq's history ... the book's perspective and interpretation are new and interesting ... This book contains considerable food for thought ... the volume in hand not only provides first-rate material for exploring Iraq's past and its future, but also a plausible account of how the state got where it is.' The Middle East Journal

Review of the first edition: '... by far the best and most serious history of Iraq to date.' Efraim Karsh, Reviews in History

'This book is an excellent introduction to the complexities of a country few of us know very much about. Tripp offers a quick introduction to the history of Iraq which can be understood and appreciated by both academics and laymen alike.' Lindsay Moore Geros, Reformer (the journal of the Tory Reform Group)

'... an authoritative academic account by the leading British scholar on the subject. His conclusions on the 1920 revolt against British rule are fascinating.' The Observer

'Avi Shlaim, professor of international relations at St Antony's College, Oxford, calls it Tripp's 'greatest contribution to the field', adding 'I have read half a dozen histories of modern Iraq and this is the one I rate the most highly ... this is the most prestigious Middle East studies series in the world and, as general editor, Dr Tripp deserves a share of the credit, Shlaim says.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

This updated edition of Charles Tripp's A History of Iraq covers events since 1998, and looks at present-day developments right up to mid-2002. Since its establishment by the British in the 1920s Iraq has witnessed the rise and fall of successive regimes, culminating in the dictatorship of Saddam Husain. Tripp traces Iraq's political history from its nineteenth-century roots in the Ottoman empire, to the development of the state, its transformation from monarchy to republic and the rise of the Ba'th party and the ascendancy of Saddam Husain. This is a story of social conflict, of power struggles between rival clans, of hostility and wars with neighboring states, as well as of their aftermath, and Iraq's deteriorating relations with the West. The book offers an incisive analysis of the making of a modern state and how it creates its own distinctive politics.