| Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War | 
 enlarge | Creator: Anthony Shadid
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 1341868
Format: Abridged, Audiobook, Cd
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Abridged
Number Of Items: 6
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.8 x 5.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 1593977883
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.704431
EAN: 9781593977887
ASIN: 1593977883
Publication Date: September 7, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 3.5 Stars December 13, 2006
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
I'm slightly on the fence on this book. It's journalist-history, the new form of reporting that seems the be the way books are written nowadays. I'm typically against this type of work, but in this case, I had no choice as Western journalists have been unable to provide the same type of coverage Mr.Shahid has via his cultural background.
Overall, the book is well written, and well placed. Mr.Shahid visits Iraq before the Invasion, during the invasion, and afterwards. He interviews and speaks to Iraqi's all over the country. Getting their view on the war and their ideas.
While Mr.Shahid has an Arab background, it was obvious that he was an outsider in Iraq. He did not understand their culture, nor religious ideas at any real depth. And this is readily apparent to anyone who has lived in that culture. This alone, rendered most of Mr.Shahids analysis as Western, or analysis from the outside. I dont believe the Inside story will ever be divulged until an Iraqi writes about his experiences in the War.
In summary, I believe this book provides the much needed "Iraqi" view of the war. Unfortunatly, Mr.Shahid is not the best source for such a task.
 A book worth your money November 22, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Parts of this book featured in the Washington Post during Shadid's coverage in Baghdad in March/April 2003. I enjoyed reading them back then inasmuch as I enjoy reading them in his book now.
Shadid is no doubt a talented writer who captures the mood of the Iraqi population before, during and after the American war in 2003. Shadid has a keen eye for detail and turns every bit of his coverage into a real life image.
Whether it is a woman who decided to cope with the war by sending letters to her friends and then using these drafts as a chronicle or whether it is a doctor who advises the US to do the job fast in Iraq or otherwise the popular mood will shift against it, the book is full of accounts that tell the story of a population who saw the Iraqi tyrant fall while the nation plunged into an unknown fate.
Those who are familiar with books from reporters of the Middle East might see resemblance between this book and Tom Friedman's classic From Beirut to Jerusalem.
However, I would say that Shadid tends to present more stories from the people and less intelligentsia talk and analysis if compared to Freedman's. Buy this book, it's certainly money well spent.
Ground-based view of a war gone terribly wrong September 29, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In mournful yet even tones, Anthony Shadid reports the Iraqi war that many Americans do not see -- the war from the perspective of those on the ground, on whom violence falls, whether from US bombs or sectarian violence. Shadid, an Arab-American reporter for the Washington Post, takes us from the days just before the "Shock and Awe" campaign that signaled the US invasion all the way through the beginning of the insurgency in early 2005. His fluency in Arabic allows him to obtain firsthand accounts of the effect of Saddam's rule as well as the US invasion and occupation that non-Arabic speakers cannot reach. His obvious sympathy with the people he interviews allows him access to the fears and dreams that are ignored in the ready-for-primetime spin that comes from the occupation forces, the media and the insurgents.
Shadid's portraits are fair, albeit one-sided. He speaks mostly with ordinary people -- with little input from decision makers in Bagdad or Washington. His subjects find themselves anxiously withstanding hours of bombing, locking themselves from crime-ridden streets, attending funerals for the victims of violence and moving steadily toward support of the insurgents. To read Shadid is to see the enormous obstacles America faces in Iraq, and the tone-deafness the occupiers have to that country's citizens. American soldiers, ignorant or unmindful of social norms, walk into homes with weapons drawn, speak directly to women and overreact to thrown stones with lethal bullets. Without understanding the shame-based culture into which they have intruded, they constantly raise the hackles of Iraqis. When they could gain popular support -- for instance by providing a steady supply of electricity -- they choose other priorities. After months and years of broken promises, deprivation and lack of security, the Iraqis are worn down, worn out and ready to take up arms to change their circumstances.
"Night Draws Near" is not an encouraging book. But it does help the reader understand the bind the US has made for itself in Iraq. A country that was hopeful for change and improvement after 35 years of poverty, war and tyranny is sliding into sectarian violence and constantly escalating attacks against the troops of the country that came to liberate it. Without a top-down change in leadership and tactics, it's hard to imagine anything better than the continued and futile destruction of lives, property and America's reputation as a beacon of hope and liberty.
Note on the audio version: Shadid's narration is adequate, but not stellar. It's the one drawback to this otherwise outstanding book.
 A Note of Caution for Those Considering Buying the Audio CD July 17, 2006
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I read the book and thought it excellent, so I purchased the audio CD for my mother. Unfortunately, after trying to listen to half of NIGHT DRAWS NEAR twice, she gave up on the book. According to her, Shadid read his work at such a quick clip that he was difficult to follow. After listening to a disc myself, I agree. Because of the complexity of many of Shadid's sentences, a listener needs lengthier pauses than Shadid gives one in order to digest and truly appreciate all that has been written.
What's Happening on the Ground June 25, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is powerful--and distressing. The Arab-American author had spent time as a journalist in Iraq before and after the invasion by Americans and British. His fluency in the people's own language allowed him to speak with people and get first-hand experience of what Iraqis were thinking.
The primary lesson seems to be: The United States had a shot at making the successful overthrow of Saddam work, but could not pull it off. Lack of understanding of the Iraqi cultures, inability to get electricity back on line, committing acts against the Iraqis that inflamed passion against the troops all contributed to a deteriorating situation.
Today, the United States is desperate for an exit strategy, partially as a result of a near complete misunderstanding of Iraq and its people. What makes this book unique in comparison with others that have explored what is happening "on the ground" (e.g., Cobra II, Squandered Victory, and The Assassins' Gate) is the intimate portrait of everyday Iraqis by an author fluent in their language and conversant with their culture.
If only the American government had had the sense to bother trying to undertand that culture beforehand rather than assuming that "shock and awe" would lead to being greeted as "liberators". . . .
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