Happenings in Iraq today mirror the history of the country. Once a pro-Western monarchy, nationalists assassinated the king and his regent and prime minister in 1958.
(PRWEB) April 6, 2004--The horror of seeing photos of Americans, who had been attacked and burned alive in Iraq and then dragged through the streets, brought to mind a chapter in "Return to Baghdad: An American Woman's Journey" by Cosette M. Laperruque and Mary Alice Murphy.
Things haven't changed much in almost 50 years among the Iraqis. In 1958, the pro-Western Hashemite monarchy was overthrown by violent thugs, who dragged the bodies of the assassinated prime minister and crown prince through the streets until little was left but bits of hair and bone. The young King Faisal II's body was treated with more respect.
"Return to Baghdad" offers a glimpse of what life in Iraq was like during the late 1950s and again in 1991 immediately after Desert Storm. Iraqis have always been a welcoming people, but violence runs deep in the culture, especially when mobs form. Shame for violent actions often follows.
"Return to Baghdad" presents a sympathetic view of the Iraqi people, once good friends to the West. Cosette Laperruque asked Mary Alice Murphy to help her write her story because she wanted to create an element of understanding for a misunderstood and downtrodden people. Even though the United States government tends to put the blame on the now-deposed Saddam Hussein for Iraq's problems, many Americans still feel the words Iraq and Iraqi designate enemy.
Travel with Cosette Laperruque, a teenager in 1957, as she moves with her family to Baghdad, Iraq, where she falls in love with a country and a man, General Ubaid Abdulla Al-Mudhayifi, the forty-three year old commander of the Royal Bodyguard and recipient of the U.S. Medal of Honor. The revolution of 1958 that overthrew the king, Cosette feels, set in motion all that is happening in Iraq today.
In April, 1991, Cosette, alone, journeys to Baghdad on a humanitarian mission soon after Desert Storm. The trip over damaged roads, surviving attempts to hijack the load of food and fuel, and travel over precarious bridges takes many hours, but her Iraqi family welcomes Cosette with open arms.
Her trip back to Jordan in a small bus with the nationalities involved in Desert Storm, Jordanians, Iraqis, Saudi Arabians,Kuwaitis and herself, a lone American woman, reinforces Cosette's faith in the resilience and basic humanity of all people.
The book is available on the Web sites: www.publishamerica.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com.
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