The Devil You Don't Know

"What really comes through and is startlingly refreshing are al-Jezairyrs"s encounters with ordinary Iraqis . . . during the American occupation. Through them come all the extraordinary Iraqi stories that have been so hard for Westerners to capture all these years." Rageh OmaarIn 1979, journalist Zuhair al-Jezairy fled Iraq and certain death after openly criticizing Saddam Husseinrs"s regime. Twenty-five years later he is back and cautiously celebrating the toppling of the hated Bars"ath Party.As editor of a newspaper, he breaks the Oil for Food scandal, disclosing the names of Arabs and Westerners who were involved, and is subsequently forced to resign. He then sets up a television company and travels all over Iraq, documenting the countryrs"s descent into sectarianism and hopeless violence, soon becoming a target himself.Al-Jezairyrs"s firsthand accounts of the looting of Baghdad, the destruction of government buildings, and indiscriminate bombings present a searing, personal, and unique view of Iraq after Saddam Hussein.Zuhair al-Jezairy lives in Iraq, where he manages the countryrs"s first independent news agency, Voice of Iraq. He has published nine books, including two novels, in Arabic.John West is a journalist and a graduate in classics from Balliol College, Oxford. He has covered three wars in the Middle East as a correspondent for Reuters.

Zuhair al-Jezairy lives in Iraq, where he manages the country's first independent news agency, Voice of Iraq. He has published nine books, including two novels, in Arabic.