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Summary: ONE VERY EXELLENT BOOK ( helo mayada )
Review: This is one very absorbing book to read, about the suffering of people in iraq and the tortures they go through. there are some horrifying things in this book which really makes you want to go out into iraq and change whats going on. mayada is a book that you just cannot stop reading and you will probably reach cahpter 8 in 1 hour! this opens your eyes to the harsh brutality that went on under saddam hussains reighn. if you only ever reda one book in you lifetime pleas emake it be this one. an exellent read.
fatima
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Summary: Should Be Required Reading
Review: Mayada is MUST read!!! After reading this book, you will have absolutely no doubts about why our country has rescued the Iraqi people from Saddam and why we are there rebuilding it for them. Author Jean Sasson tells the true story about Mayada and other innocent men and women who suffered under Saddam's tyranny. Finally, the truth is told for all the world to hear, if only they will listen. This book should be required reading for all students if they are to be citizens of the world. I cannot recommend it enough. It is the BEST of the BEST!!!
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Summary: Shock and Awe!
Review: This book is the real "Shock and Awe" of the past year. After a week, I'm still shaken by the contents of this wonderfully written and haunting story of 18 women imprisoned in Iraq. The author weaved the story so skillfully that I felt I was living with Mayada and her "shadow women" and was subjected to the terrible conditions and foul food and torture. Despite my anguish, I still feel it is a story that every American should read. If you are looking for that perfect book about Iraq and Iraqis, the book that will entertain, enlighten,and "shock and awe", this is the one.
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Summary: Touching and enlightening
Review: This book will open your eyes to the fear Iraqui people have been living with, not only under Saddam's rule but for decades before. The book will touch you, make you cry, shock you and anger you. It is difficult to understand how one human being can treat others so horrifically. I only hope that the recent events in Iraq put an end to such suffering and that books like these enlighen the rest of the world as to the suffering of others. A must read for anyone who cares enough to understand.
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Summary: Gripping
Review: This is a superb book which shows the true character of Saddam Hussein's regime, where innocent people were simply rounded up and brought to Baladiyat prison to be tortured until they confessed to whatever crimes the regime wanted them to confess to! Anyone familiar with another despotic regime, the Kymer Rouge, will be able to identify with what went on at Baladiyat to the torture chambers in the Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh. Mayada, who came from a very prestigious Iraqi family, was caught up by accident in this tragedy and it is through her experiences that Jean Sasson wrote the book. The unfairness of her arrest and inhumanity of the guards is unconscionable! Even after she was released, she continued to be blackmailed by one of the dishonest guards. This is not a book to read while trying to fall asleep at night!
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Summary: Mayada
Review: The story of Mayada was one of the most compelling books I have ever read. This fact based book gives an insight into the live's of the Iraqi people. An insight we only get a glimpse of in the newspapers and on TV. The fear and intimidation these people have lived under for the past 30+ years was so disturbing that I found myself close to tears. What I most appreciated about this book is that the author has no political or self serving purpose for writing this story except to communicate the atrocities these human beings have suffered under this dictatorship. I would recommend this book to everyone I know!
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Summary: An Important Perspective of Modern Events
Review: Coming on the heels of the war with Iraq, Jean Sasson has written an excellent narrative of the issues from an Iraqi point of view. More over, she does so in such a way that the politics of the war itself are not once covered, actually giving no more than passing reference to an event that for Mayada was a longed for release. Ms. Sasson does not allow one to remain outside of the events, however. She simply puts into the proper perspective. Through the eyes of Mayada the reader is drawn into the world and history of Iraq - both its beauty and its horror, often seen at the same time. The writing is personal, engaging, and emphatic in its delivery without becoming overwhelming or melodramatic. It is almost as if Mayada herself is talking to the reader one on one, quietly relating the facts of her past - with both calm, humourous, and emotional overtones breaking through in natural cadance. The blending of the history of Mayada and Iraq with the narrative of her imprisonment gives a wholistic view of the events while keeping to a natural flow - there is a logic in the train of thought. The most powerful aspect of this book however is its engaging quality. The quiet strength and fortitude of Samara ... the hatred of the guards ... the condition of the people ... the hope, the despair, the fear, and the grief. All of these become a part of the willing soul who reads. This book is a legacy of remembering, and all who read are the torch bearers of those great women of cell 52 and all others like them - not only in Iraq but everywhere. If the suffering of a single person does not still touch our soul, then we are no better than those who caused the suffering of Mayada, the women in cell 52, and Iraq. Inhumane destruction of human life does not come when we care for no one - it comes when we allow ourselves to pick and choose who is worthy of our care. Individuals may be our enemies, and they may have much power to command those around them - but nations are not. Ms. Sasson has put a face on the 'enemy' only to reveal that she was never our enemy.
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Summary: A Very Humbling and Rivoting Read
Review: This true story of one woman's terrible encounters with the Saddam regime is so boldy told and uncovered by Jean Sasson! Although disturbing in parts, I feel it is a very important book which everyone should read if you have any doubts about what an evil and brutal dictator Saddam was! I repeat..."was".....for the future of Iraq looks very bright indeed! An excellent read!!
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Summary: ANY DOUBTS ON WHETHER ATTACKING SADDAM WAS NESCESARY? READ
Review: This book is wonderfuly touching. The harsh reality of woman in Iraq (and other countries as well) can not be fathomed unless books like these are read. Mayada's story is so fascinating that I could not put the book down. I felt for her and the shadow woman, and I can't even imagine the terror these woman (and children) faced under Saddam and his viscious loyalists. I didnt think a book could top the Princess Trilogy, but this one is right up there. The most troublesome part of this book is that it is a true story of modern day cruelty that people have come to "accept".
Dont pass this up, I would reccomend this book to young woman, especially those who think they have it tough.
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Summary: Perhaps Iraq's True WMD Has Been Uncovered..Saddam Hussein
Review: Not since Adolf Hitlter has the world seen the diabolitc torture, and murder of so many human beings as controlled and ordered by Saddam Hussein and like-minding insane family. Through the talents of Jean Sasson, Mayada Al-Askari's promise to tell the world about her torture and that of the shadow women, and so many others, came true. While so much has been said about the alleged weapons of mass destruction one only has to read this book and learn that Hussein was a WMD. Millions of Iraq's now have hope for a democracy, free speech, and the ability to achieve things those of us in the free world take for granted. While no one likes war sometimes humans have to make great sacrifice to stop the murder and torture of millions of people. Jean Sasson has given an accurate account of Iraq's history and how such a demon could come to power and hold it for so long. Among Jean Sasson's great books this one may be the greatest contribution to mankind in understanding why the world must unit against such horror and continuing terrorism. I pray the shadow women left behind when Mayada was released also survived Saddam's torture chambers.
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