By September 2003 six months after the US-led invasion of Iraq the anarchy had begun. Rory Stewart a young Biritish diplomat was appointed as the Coalition Provisional Authority's deputy governor of a province of 850 000 people in the southern marshland region. There he & his colleagues confronted gangsters Iranian-linked politicians tribal vendettas & a full Islamist insurgency. Rory Stewart's inside account of the attempt to re-build a nation the errors made the misunderstandings & insumountable difficulties encountered reveals an Iraq hidden from most foreign journalists & soldiers. Stewart is an award-winning writer gifted with extraordinary insight into the comedy occasional heroism & moral risks of foreign occupation. ' Beautifully written highly evocative.. .a joy to read.'
- John Simpson. 'A marvellous book.. .a devastating narrative.'
- Simon Jenkins. ' Absolutely absorbing.'
- Ken Loach. ' Strikes gut & brain at once.'
- James Meek. ' Wonderfully observed wise evocative.'
- Observer"."