Synopses & Reviews
"Important and instructive . . . [Stewart] lays bare the complexity of Americas and Britains mission in Iraq."
The Washington Post Book WorldIn August 2003, at the age of thirty, Rory Stewart took a taxi from Jordan to Baghdad. A Farsi-speaking British diplomat, he was soon appointed deputy governor of Amarah and then Nasiriyah, provinces in the remote, impoverished marsh regions of southern Iraq. He spent the next eleven months negotiating hostage releases, holding elections, and splicing together some semblance of an infrastructure for a population of millions teetering on the brink of civil war.
The Prince of the Marshes tells the story of Stewarts year. By turns funny and harrowing, moving and incisive, this book amounts to a unique portrait of heroism and the tragedy that intervention inevitably courts in the modern age.
"Rueful, richly detailed, often harrowing . . . [Stewart] brings his yearlong diary to a conclusion with a thrilling shoot em-up, an Alamo-like last stand in Nasiriya."The New York Times
"Rory Stewart can write . . . His spare, vivid prose serves him brilliantly . . . Theres sometimes something Monty Pythonesque about the way he sails gallantly, if not quite blindly, into danger."The Seattle Times
RORY STEWART is the author of the national bestseller The Places in Between. A former infantry officer, diplomat in Indonesia and Yugoslavia, and Fellow at Harvards John F. Kennedy School of Government, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire by the British government for his services in Iraq. He now lives in Kabul.
Review
"Stewart was able to forge strong bonds with individual Arabs, and his description of his personal relations form the core of an interesting look at a region of Iraq rarely covered in the mass media." Booklist
Review
"Stewart was able to forge strong bonds with individual Arabs, and his description of his personal relations form the core of an interesting look at a region of Iraq rarely covered in the mass media." Booklist
Review
"Despite its exotic setting, the story is strangely familiar. Will reward readers interested in the Iraq war, or disaster management, or anyone interested in taking an intelligent adventure." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"The Prince of the Marshes is his rueful, richly detailed, often harrowing account of his yearlong efforts to build a new civil society from the ruins of the old Iraq." New York Times
Review
"Stewart's exasperation with the cultural ignorance of C.P.A. directives is as manifest as his affectionate regard for the rhythms and customs of Arab life, a quality that often recalls an earlier generation of British travel writer." New Yorker
Synopsis
In August 2003, at the age of thirty, Rory Stewart took a taxi from Jordan to Baghdad. A Farsi-speaking British diplomat who had recently completed an epic walk from Turkey to Bangladesh, he was soon appointed deputy governor of Amarah and then Nasiriyah, provinces in the remote, impoverished marsh regions of southern Iraq. He spent the next eleven months negotiating hostage releases, holding elections, and splicing together some semblance of an infrastructure for a population of millions teetering on the brink of civil war.
The Prince of the Marshes tells the story of Stewart's year. As a participant he takes us inside the occupation and beyond the Green Zone, introducing us to a colorful cast of Iraqis and revealing the complexity and fragility of a society we struggle to understand. By turns funny and harrowing, moving and incisive, it amounts to a unique portrait of heroism and the tragedy that intervention inevitably courts in the modern age.
Synopsis
In August 2003, at the age of thirty, Rory Stewart took a taxi from Jordan to Baghdad. A Farsi-speaking British diplomat who had recently completed an epic walk from Turkey to Bangladesh, he was soon appointed deputy governor of Amarah and then Nasiriyah, provinces in the remote, impoverished marsh regions of southern Iraq. He spent the next eleven months negotiating hostage releases, holding elections, and splicing together some semblance of an infrastructure for a population of millions teetering on the brink of civil war.
The Prince of the Marshes tells the story of Stewart's year. As a participant he takes us inside the occupation and beyond the Green Zone, introducing us to a colorful cast of Iraqis and revealing the complexity and fragility of a society we struggle to understand. By turns funny and harrowing, moving and incisive, it amounts to a unique portrait of heroism and the tragedy that intervention inevitably courts in the modern age.
About the Author
RORY STEWART is the bestselling author of The Places in Between andandnbsp;The Prince of the Marshes. A former director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy andandnbsp;Ryan Professor of Human Rights atandnbsp;Harvardand#39;s Kennedy School of Government, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services in Iraq.andnbsp;Heandnbsp;is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border, a constituency in Northern Cumbria, where he lives with his wife.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Foreword
Dramatis Personae
Timeline
Introduction
Capitalist-Imperialist-Crusader
Waking Up Dead
Mordor
Part One: The Prince of the Marshes
The British Camp
Regeneration
The General
Civil Affairs
Persia
Ice Cream
Baklava
Pagoda
The Supervisory Committee
High Command
Part Two: Death of a Hero
Friday Prayers
And Would Not Stay for an Answer
Resolutions
Blood Money
Resignation
Summit
and#160;
Part Three: Iraqi Pastoral
Al-Mutanabi Street
Rural Rides
Deputy
The Paths That Lead to Destruction
Import Substitution Industrialization
Jobs
Mutiny
Sheikhs
Precautions
The Islamic Call
Sadrines
Majority and Minority
Poet
Our Successors
Departures
Trust
A New Chief
Death by the Office Wall
Credibility
and#160;
Part Four: Nasiriyah
Arrivals
Morning Meeting
A Second Governor
Sage of the Assembly
Mudhif
Ali Zeidi
Police
Echoes from the Frontiers
Kidnapped
Rewarding Friends
Foreign Elements
Return to the Green Zone
The Rule of Law
Part Five: Besieged
The Quick Reaction Force
Kabul
Reprise
Final Days
Leaders
Last Days in Amara
Handing Over
Afterword
Acknowledgments