Iraq : a history / John Robertson.
Material type:![Text](/opac-tmpl/lib/famfamfam/BK.png)
- text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781851685868
- 1851685863
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
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Main Library | NonFiction | 956.7 R651 | Available | 33111008339943 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Cities, scripts, literature, the rule of law - all were born in Iraq. That so many see this ancient land as nothing more than a violent backwater steeped in chaos is a travesty. This is the place where, for the first 5,000 years of human history, all innovations of worth emerged. It was the cradle of civilization.
In this unrivalled study, John Robertson details the greatness and grandeur of Iraq's achievements, the brutality and magnificence of its ancient empires and its extraordinary contributions to the world. The only work in the English language to explore the history of the land of two rivers in its entirety, it takes readers from the seminal advances of its Neolithic inhabitants to the aftermath of the American and British-led invasion, the rise of Islamic State and Iraq today. A fascinating and thought-provoking analysis, it is sure to be greatly appreciated by historians, students and all those with an interest in this diverse and enigmatic country.
This paperback edition features a new epilogue, bringing the work up to date and looking ahead to Iraq's future.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 337-370) and index.
Introduction: The glory and the curse of Iraq's past -- Places, peoples, potentials : the enduring foundations of life in Iraq -- Cradle of civilization -- Cradle of empires -- Cradle of religions, crucible of conflicts -- Iraq, Islam, and the golden age of the Arab empire -- Interlude : from cradle to backwater -- The creation and zenith of modern Iraq -- The long descent -- Epilogue: "Tell me how this ends."
"In this insightful analysis, highly-respected expert John Robertson canvases the entirety of Iraq's rich history, from the seminal advances of its Neolithic inhabitants to the aftermath of the American-led invasion and Iraq today. Grounded in extensive research, this balanced account of a country and its people explores the greatness and grandeur of Iraq's achievements, the brutality and magnificence of its ancient empires, its contributions to the emergence of the world's enduring monotheistic faiths, and the role the great Arab caliphs of Baghdad played in the medieval cultural flowering that contributed so much to the European Renaissance and the eventual rise of the West"-- Provided by publisher.