Rating: 
Summary: A sensible, easy-to-read and illuminating book on Iraq
Review: "The Reckoning, Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein", is a very readable book that describes how Iraq got to where it is today and the roles that British colonialism, religious issues, Saddam Hussein, the Baath party and Arab nationalism have played in that journey. The book provides a good history of Iraq from the early Mesopotanian civilizations to the present time. This history is used to develop an understanding of the three legs of Iraqi society, the dominant but minority Sunni's, the less powerful but majority Shia's and the minority Kurds, and how the complicated interactions of these three groups have shaped modern Iraq and the potential role the same issues will play in the future of Iraq. I recommend it to anyone seeking to understand to develop a better understanding of the basic issues involved with the present Iraqi situation.Many of the other reviewers state that there is nothing new in the book. That may, to some extent, be true. However, for readers who want a good overview and perspective in one book, "The Reckoning" does a good job of providing that overview.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is Ms. Mackey's expertise?
Review: A decent, but somewhat disappointing book. While the author gives a good overview of the history of Iraq, its internal tribal politics, and foreign relations, the entire first 2/3 of the book seems to be paraphrased from research of other Iraqi historians. The author's preface seems to imply that she did extensive research in Iraq, but it is unclear how long she actually was there, and there seems to be few fruits of this first-hand research in the book itself. There are woefully few first hand stories about her experiences in Iraq, and these are usually limited to her talking to merchants in trinket stores and other common tourist experiences. It is not clear if she speaks any Iraqi dialects. Most of the quotes of officials or Iraqi people actually are secondhand, meaning that she didn't actually talk to most of the people she was quoting but merely took the quotes from other Iraqi historians. My question, then, is what expertise does Ms. Mackey bring to the subject of Iraq? It is obvious that she has spent a lot of time in the Middle East, but she seems to refer to her time in Saudi Arabia vaguely as being in "the Arab side of the Gulf," as if this experience gives her insight on Iraq. I found this misleading, and it seems almost delibirately so. When compared to the vivid descriptions and personal accounts that Thomas Friedman, for example, brings to his Middle East commentary, this book seems like a novice history book. If you want to read a history of Iraq, it would make more sense to read a history by an Iraqi expert, such as, well, many of the books that are in Ms. Mackey's bibliography. Overall, a good historical description of Iraq, but it seems to me that Ms. Mackey pretends to have much more expertise in Iraq than she does.
Rating: 
Summary: Just plain awful
Review: Don't bother buying this one. The author has a serious case of the "I's" and is more interested in herself than in the subjects she is researching. Even more unforgiving, I felt I had read a book that did nothing more than recycle old information and put it in a new suit.
Rating: 
Summary: How far should the U.S. go in its war against terrorism?
Review: How far should the U.S. go in its war against terrorism, and is a future Iraq without Saddam safer for U.S. security than one with Hussein at the helm? The Reckoning provides both a history of Saddam's dictatorship and an assessment of Iraq's heritage, national identity, and possible world without him. The coverage will prove essential reading for any who would understand Iraq's role in the Middle East.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good Without the Ancient History
Review: I found The Reckoning somewhat disappointing from the start. The author, Sandra Mackey, begins way back in ancient history with the history of Mesopotamia. She doesn't add anything new here; we've all seen this from High School history so the first third of the book is a complete waste. I'd give it 3 stars because The Recokning redeems itself when you finally get to the chapters on Saddam Husein, but the first 4 or 5 chapters are just a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: The Reckoning
Review: I had read Sandra Mackey's book, "The Saudis" a couple of years ago and found it fascinating and insightfully true. I saw her on C-SPAN talking about this new book, "The Reckoning", and I knew I had to buy it. Waldenbooks let me buy their "store copy" which came in a couple of days earlier than the normal shipment. I read all night long. This book is more historical and concentrates on the early history of the Arab world. I thank Ms. (Professor?) Mackey for researching everything so deeply for those of us who have a very difficult time understanding why or how some peoples of the world behave as they do. I also found many of her observations to be so true. I'm holding on to my copies. Please try to read these books for yourselves and reflect upon how we are all human beings with very unique perspectives on life.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I have a great interest in Iraq and buy every new book published about the ruler and the country. Therefore I rushed to buy this book. I was disappointed because I discovered no new information in this book. I felt the author had read everything published about Saddam Hussein and simply rehashed all the information. This method of writing does not impress me. What I would like to know is this: Has the author ever traveled to Iraq? If so, when? Has the author met with Saddam Hussein? If so, when? Although it is not easy to travel in that part of the world, I do know people who have traveled there for humanitarian reasons. I would think a truly serious author would travel to any country they were writing about. I say this book is okay but nothing special. If I had bothered to read a few pages in the store before buying it, I would not have bothered. So my recommendation is "two thumbs down," to this latest work of Ms. Mackey.
Rating:
Summary: Research in a vacuum
Review: I may have been slightly over-critical giving this book a 1 star when it is actually quite readable. However, I could never get past the haunting realization that this author could never have possibly been to Iraq, met Saddam Hussein or any other government functionary, nor did it seem that she had ever really spent any appreciable time in the Middle East over the last 20 years. In short, I came away wondering how Ms. Mackey ever came to be considered a "Middle Eastern Expert". Does conducting research in a room in Atlanta and retelling the accounts of others count? In this case, I guess so.
Rating:
Summary: All I Can Absorb About Iraq
Review: I thought The Reckoning was absolutely splendid. I feel that I know more than I ever thought I wanted to know and enjoyed it thoroughly. Congratulations to Sandra Mackey for an outstanding book.Now when I read the paper or watch the news, I feel rather like an expert!
Rating:
Summary: Some surprising information
Review: I'd also say this book is a good introduction.
I was surprised to read in it that Great Britain
had dropped poison gas on the Kurds first,
in 1920, during a general uprising against
their mandate. I don't often hear this
mentioned in the West but I'll bet it's
still talked about in the Middle East.
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