mardi 3 février 2015

All About Saddam Hussein Books

By Ines Flores


Saddam Hussein is an Iraqi leader born in 1937 who became president in 1979. He is remembered for strengthening the oil industry in Iraq as well as its military. To maintain power, he often used brutal measures that eventually cost him his life at the hands of Iraqi government. In 2006, he was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity that he was executed for in Dec 2006. What most people do not know about him is that he was an author of several Saddam Hussein books.

In the list of books written by Saddam include four novels and a few poems. The novels include Men and City, Begone, Demons, Zabibah and the King and also The Fortified Castle. They were anonymously published using the pen name of the author. Some of these materials became part of the curriculum for schools in Iraq. Others became best sellers after his death.

Zabibah and the King is a romance novel written by Saddam Hussein and published anonymously in 2000. The characters include Arab, the protagonist, Zabibah, Zabibahs husband, Hezkel, Shamil and Nuri Chalabi. Although the novel has a romantic theme, it is intended to be as an allegory with the protagonist being Hussein. Zabibah is a poor woman unhappily married who the Arab seems to like. She represents the people of Iraq.

According to the novel, the husband to Zabibah is unloving and cruel. The husband is mean to be an allegory to the United States. When he rapes Zabibah, it is a metaphor for the invasion of Iraq. Other characters represent the relationship with Israel, Jews and other the countries which the author perceives to be its enemies. This novel managed to sell over a million copies and its royalties shared among charities.

The other novel authored by the former Iraq leader is Men and the City. Published in 2002, it is third of his books to be published. Men and the City is slightly different from the others as it is more of an autobiography. It tells the story of Husseins grandfather and his war to defeat the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Some people say that this book was ghostwritten but evidence exists to dispute this.

The third novel by Hussein is the Fortified Castle. Like almost all the others, its an allegory as well as a political metaphor. It was published in the year 2001 and tells the story of a delayed wedding. The protagonist is an Iraq war hero called Sabah getting married to a Kurdish girl. The war hero participated in the significant Iran-Iraq war and was left wounded.

Begone, Demons is Saddams fourth and last novel. It loosely translates to Get out of here, Curse You! It was written before the Iraq war in 2003 and published in 2006 in Tokyo by a Japanese publisher. Although fictional, it is believed to be a political metaphor. Published in Japanese and later translated into Turkish language. No other translation is available.

The four books written by Saddam Hussein are very significant to him, his era and Iraq. They were all authored at a time when his political career had begun to die. Also, it represents a troubling period for him and Iraq citizens. Lastly, they are a demonstration of hope, strength and a bit of ignorance for a person who considered himself a hero.




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