A History of Iraq (New Edition)

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by Charles Tripp

Cambridge University Press

Due/Published June 2002, 332 pages, paper

ISBN 052152900X

In response to current events, Tripp has updated his History of Iraq to include developments as recent as early-2002. Since its establishment by the British in the 1920s, Iraq has witnessed the rise and fall of successive authoritarian regimes, competing for power and resources. This struggle culminated in the dictatorship of Saddam Husain, who still maintains his grip over a fragmented and increasingly isolated society. Tripp's book traces Iraq's political history from its nineteenth-century roots in the Ottoman empire, to the development of the state, its transformation from monarchy to republic and the rise of the Ba'th party and the ascendancy and current rule of Saddam. This is a story of social conflict, of power struggles between rival clans, of hostility and wars with neighboring states, as well as of their aftermath, and Iraq's deteriorating relations with the West.

" . . . a well-written and well-researched overview of Iraq's history . . . the book's perspective and interpretation are new and interesting . . . the volume in hand not only provides firstrate material for exploring Iraq's past and its future, but also a plausible account of how the state got where it is."--The Middle East Journal

Contents

Introduction;
1. The Ottoman provinces of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul;
2. The British mandate;
3. The Hashemite monarchy 1932-41;
4. The Hashemite monarchy 1941-58;
5. The Republic 1958-68;
6. The Ba'th and the rule of Saddam Husain;
Conclusion.