The Washington Post’s former Baghdad bureau chief, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, takes us into the Green Zone, headquarters for the American occupation in Iraq. In this bubble separated from wartime realities, the task of reconstructing a devastated nation competes with the distractions of a Little America—a half-dozen bars, a disco, a shopping mall—much of it run by Halliburton. While qualified Americans willing to serve in Iraq are screened for their views on Roe v. Wade, the country is put into the hands of inexperienced twentysomethings chosen for their Republican Party loyalty. Ignoring what Iraqis say they want or need, the team pursues irrelevant neoconservative solutions and pie-in-the-sky policies instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity production. Their almost comic initiatives anger the locals and fuel the insurgency.
This is a quietly devastating portrait of imperial folly, and an essential book for anyone who wants to understand those early days when things went irrevocably wrong in Iraq.
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"Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the most impartial book about America's first year in Iraq that I've found so far. Rajiv spends a lot of time criticizing Bremer, who rightly deserves it because of many of the decisions he made while serving as the Administrator of Iraq. I was in Iraq during the last 6 to 7 months of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and saw the effects of a lot of his decisions first hand. If you're looking to form your own opinion about Iraq, this is one of the better books to use as one of your resources. I've rated it 4 out of 5 stars because although it is the most impartial book I've found so far, Chandrasekaran does draw his own conclusions at times that are only partially informed."
— Jak (4 out of 5 stars)
“Absolutely brilliant. It is eyewitness history of the first order...It should be read by anyone who wants to understand how things went so badly wrong in Iraq.”
— New York Times Book Review“A vividly detailed portrait of the Green Zone and the Coalition Provisional Authority that becomes a metaphor for the administration’s larger failings in Iraq…often reads like something out of Catch-22 or MASH.”
— New York Times“As chilling an indictment of America’s tragic cultural myopia as Graham Greene’s prescient 1955 novel of the American debacle in Indochina, The Quiet American.”
— New York Times“Extraordinary…Indispensable…Full of jaw-dropping tales of the myriad large and small ways in which Bremer and his team poured fuel into the lethal cauldron that is today’s Iraq.”
— Washington Post Book World“An eye-opening tour of ineptitude, misdirection, and the perils of democracy-building.”
— Newsday“With acuity and a fine sense of the absurd, the author peels back the roof to reveal an ant heap of arrogance, ineptitude, and hayseed provincialism.”
— Boston Globe“Narrator Ray Porter delivers the author’s story of hubris, corruption, excess, and destruction with the perfect degree of revulsion, outrage, and disdain…[Chandrasekaran] misses not a detail or nuance in this unintentional black comedy‚ nor does the highly professional Porter.”
— AudioFile“A devastating indictment of the post-invasion failures of the Bush administration.”
— Booklist" I originally saw this author on the daily show and had meant to read this book a while ago. It details what the situation was like inside the Green Zone during the US occupation of Iraq. The author had fantastic access to the Green Zone, which is where nearly all of the US staff lived during the occupation and rarely ventured outside of it, if at all. If you are interesting in this area, its a great. It focuses on the situation and realities in Iraq, and not nearly as much what was going on in Washington. Components include the occupation team having to deal with looting, running foreign ministries, Bremer's policies, life and attitudes inside the Green Zone, contractors, and more. "
— Jonathan, 2/20/2014" No writer of fiction could imagine such lunacy! "
— Seligne, 2/19/2014" The best book written on the Iraq invasion. Ignore any connection to the later film "Green Zone" "
— David, 2/18/2014" I think I've finally read everything except tactical vignettes about the Iraq war. Now that we've finally pulled out, there is a sense of closure but my frustration at the hubris and insanity that led us down this path is never dulled and likely never will be. "
— Grahambo, 2/12/2014" I still have not finished this book and I don't know if I ever will. It was good, very insightful, however I felt like it was poorly organized....much like the green zone that it describes (so maybe it can't be helped). "
— K., 2/8/2014" This book is truly edifying, yet also interesting, and compelling in the same sort of manner as a runaway train. For a reader without much background knowledge of the Middle East, it provides a great introduction with a witty narrative style. If you want to know more about Iraq, and the follies of the post-Sadaam occupation, I highly recommend "Imperial Life in the Emerald City." "
— Stephanie, 1/31/2014" A fascinating, cringe-inducing account of how political arrogance triumphed over reason in the Bush admin's occupation of Iraq. A must-read to understand what went so terribly wrong. "
— Allen, 1/24/2014" The complete ineptitude of the Bush Administration displayed. Not the greatest writing ever, but important reporting. "
— Patty, 1/20/2014" Started out strong with surprising and woe-inspiring stories of how political appointees really screwed up the inital occupation in Iraq, but then got a little mired in the minutae of bad decisionmaking. Worth a fast read. "
— Everett, 1/15/2014" Needs to be read in High School Government classes. "
— Annette, 12/3/2013" Possibly the most depressing and enlightening book I have ever read. This book tells us all about what went wrong in Iraq, from the perspective of a journalist who was there. Imperial Life in the Emerald City is scathing, clear-eyed, and fair. I only wish it weren't true. "
— Mark, 11/28/2013Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the assistant managing editor of the Washington Post where he has worked since 1994. He previously served the Post as a bureau chief in Baghdad, Cairo, and Southeast Asia and as a correspondent covering the war in Afghanistan. He lives in Washington, DC.
Ray Porter has garnered two Audie nominations as well as several Earphones Awards and enthusiastic reviews for his sparkling narration of audiobooks. A fifteen-year veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he has also appeared in numerous films and television shows.