The New Iraq: Rebuilding the Country for Its People, the Middle East, and the World

Rating:
Summary: Educational, interesting, and hopeful
Review: "The New Iraq" is eye-opening, informative, and enjoyable to read. In just a few hours, I made my way through a vivid portrayal of Iraqi history, culture, as well as its current situation-- economic, social, and political. I especially liked Mr. Braude's use of anecdotes and humor to add flavor to the analysis. Obviously, there is a lot more that I, as well as most Americans, need to learn about this country if we hope to help rebuild Iraq and make a positive impact in the Middle East. But Mr. Braude offers a good start, and I urge others to take advantage of it.

Rating:
Summary: The New Iraq is THE Book to Read
Review: After reading Joseph Braude's The New Iraq, I am now inspired to find ways that I can help the people of Iraq build the country of their dreams. Now that the war is over, rebuilding Iraq is the top priority. Those who want to understand Iraq's past and where Iraq might be heading ought to read The New Iraq. Braude sets a positive course for the future, packing his prose with exciting stories, anecdotes, and cultural flavor (I loved the chapter on Iraqi cinema and entertainment!). The "Teachers and Judges of Truth" chapter paints a compelling portrait of the kinds of change that will be needed in Iraq's legal and educational system, so that the country can one day bloom into a democracy. This book is a winner.

Rating:
Summary: A (...)
Review: As a Western academic who has carried out extensive research in post-Saddam Iraq, I was looking forward to reading this book, especially with regards to human trafficking in new Iraq. I was disappointed and found this book to be a mere collection of anecdotes that did not bring anything new to the many burning issues in New Iraq. Trafficking of women and girls does indeed exist in post-Saddam Iraq, this under the nose of the very people who have a responsibility to protect the populations under their care: the US. This book is a waste of time and money.

Rating:
Summary: The New Iraq is THE Book to Read
Review: I heard the author on NPR and the next day picked up the book at the library. After reading it, I went out and bought a copy so that I can highlight passages and loan the book to my friends. There are so few sources from which we can learn about what life is really like for people in Iraq (and for Iraqi refugees). This book is exceptionally fun to read, laced with current jokes and ancient poetry, and based on countless interviews with Iraqi people -- who have been left out of the story we usually hear, but who are the ones who will be building the new Iraq.

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Summary: Very Impressive Work, for an antiquities trafficker...
Review: I thought this book provided some interesting analysis about the opportunities in Iraq.

Recent revelations that the author is a law-breaking opportunist himself, however, color my appreciation of his work. I no longer believe it to be sufficiently "disinterested" as a scholarly work.

[...]

Rating:
Summary: "The New Iraq" is full of breadth, depth, and wit
Review: I was completely opposed to the war against Iraq (I even attended an anti-war rally here in San Francisco) thinking that it would be disastrous to Iraqis. Then I read accounts from Iraqis themselves about the unbelievable horrors of living under Saddam Hussein. It made me realize how little I know about the Iraqi people and what they have had to endure for so long. Just the other day, I saw Joseph Braude give an impressive interview on CNN, and I thought it would be worthwhile to read his book to get an overview of Iraq and a sense of what the future holds. I am happy to say that "The New Iraq" delivered. I found it to be extremely insightful, interesting, witty, and easy to read. Joseph Braude clearly cares about the future of the Iraqi people, and I hope that as many people as possible take his advise to heart.

Rating:
Summary: A lucid and necessary book.
Review: I wish to dissent with the reviewer who labeled Mr. Braude's book "superficial". There is nothing superficial about it. It provides a thoughtful plan for reconstructing Iraq, given that war is now a reality. (Note that this is not the same as an endorsement of the war.)

Accordingly, the book devotes due space to Iraq's economic reconstruction. It seems to me that part of rebuilding a nation shattered by years of strife is ensuring that its economy functions. Mr. Braude suggests-correctly, in my view-that the influx of Western capital will aid Iraq's regrowth.

But that is not the point of the book. The vast majority of the text discusses ways to bolster Iraqi civil society-not a series of ways for Westerners to get rich, as Mr. Bremmer suggests. Either we did not read the same book, or he did not read it very carefully.

Furthermore, rather ominously, Mr. Bremmer ties Mr. Braude's opinions to his citizenship. That is, Mr. Bremmer says, "Braude, an Israeli-American citizen, who is ancestrially [sic] Iraqi Jewish, claims not to have any opinion about the decision to go to war with Iraq. However...his right-leaning, even neoconservative political opinions, seem to indicate a very different underlying purpose." This statement is misleading for two reasons.

First, as I noted, discussion of post-war plans does not make any statement about war other than "it is already happening". Avoiding formulating a map for post-war Iraq is not left-wing; it is stupid, a refusal to engage in reality.

Second, Mr. Braude is not Israeli. This is clear if you have read his biography or if-as I have-you have heard him talk about his background on radio or TV. He is an American of Iraqi-Jewish descent, hardly the same thing as an Israeli. If a reviewer wishes to condemn the politics of the book, that is acceptable (although incorrect). To condemn them as the product of an "Israeli" is a manifest lie-one that, to me, carries an edge of racism.

Mr. Braude's book is clear, concise, vigorous, and honest. It provides the first optimistic account of what might be done with a damaged society. In this, it is far more forward-thinking-far more progressive-than any other book currently available. Strongly recommended for those interested in seeing a rebuilt, healthy Iraq.

Rating:
Summary: Looter's memoir
Review: There are reports that Mr. Braude pleaded guilty to looting the Iraqi artifacts. Amazon.com would better investigate this and stop distributing his volume.

timesdaily.com, 08/03/04: An expert on Iraq's postwar reconstruction has pleaded guilty to smuggling 4,000-year-old artifacts looted from the country's national museum after the U.S. invasion.

Joseph Braude, 29, pleaded guilty Tuesday, two days into his trial on charges of smuggling and making false statements to customs agents. He could be sentenced to up to 16 months in prison.

Braude studied Near Eastern languages at Yale University and Arabic and Islamic history at Princeton University before publishing "The New Iraq: Rebuilding the Country for Its People, the Middle East and the World" last year.

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Summary: An Uplifting, Humanizing Book, with Breadth, Warmth, and Wit
Review: This book is an excellent read with many valuable points about the potential for a free, prosperous Iraq. It's a real breath of fresh air to read a positive, forward-looking book about Iraq's future, instead of all those books that dwell on weapons of mass destruction and Saddam's brutality. This one's dedicated to the Iraqi people and all those who want to live in a better world.

In chapters about Iraqi politics, business, economy, culture, cinema, the media, and the legal system, Braude's optimism and imagination (with plenty of reality-checks throughout the book) allow us to envision a New Iraq that would make the Iraqi people, the Middle East, and the world proud. One of the major arguments of the book is that whatever the exact final form of the Iraqi government of the future, it must ensure a redistribution of wealth and power among the country's three regions and ethnic groups. For over thirty years, the Baathis and their clique have hoarded wealth and power, to the detriment of the rest of the people. Redistribution is the key to calming civil strife and laying the groundwork for true democracy, explains Braude. As policymakers and officials debate the temporary government to be installed in Baghdad post-war, the overarching question of what are the principles to which the New Iraqi government adheres needs to be explored. The New Iraq, through nuanced argument and cultural portrayal, welcomes the reader into a discussion of the values and ideas that ought to guide the rebuilding process. Read The New Iraq to learn much, much more.

Rating:
Summary: A (...)
Review: want should really read this book. In the most unsuspecting chapters I found the most revealing information. The previous British attempts at "regime change" or reformation and how MUSIC played a crucial role, the true breadth and depth of fear and deceipt among the Iraqi people. The background of Ba'ath, Shi'i, Islamic, and other influences. This information in this book really raises questions regarding the method of the US's current efforts of rebuilding a well-structured Iraqi government.
The impact of the book may have been even more profound had there been an additional perspective presented by a co-author.