Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq - Softcover

Riverbend

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1558614893 ISBN 13: 9781558614895

Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY, 2005

Synopsis

In August 2003, the world gained access to a remarkable new voice: a blog written by a 25-year-old Iraqi woman living in Baghdad, whose identity remained concealed for her own protection. Calling herself Riverbend, she offered searing eyewitness accounts of the everyday realities on the ground, punctuated by astute analysis on the politics behind these events.

In a voice in turn eloquent, angry, reflective and darkly comic, Riverbend recounts stories of life in an occupied city--of neighbors whose homes are raided by US troops, whose relatives disappear into prisons and whose children are kidnapped by money-hungry militias. At times, the tragic blends into the absurd, as she tells of her family jumping out of bed to wash clothes and send e-mails in the middle of the night when the electricity is briefly restored, or of their quest to bury an elderly aunt when the mosques are all overbooked for wakes and the cemeteries are all full. The only Iraqi blogger writing from a woman's perspective, she also describes a once-secular city where women are now afraid to leave their homes without head covering and a male escort.

Interspersed with these vivid snapshots from daily life are Riverbend's analyses of everything from the elusive workings of the Iraqi Governing Council to the torture in Abu Ghraib, from the coverage provided by American media and by Al-Jazeera to Bush's State of the Union speech. Here again, she focuses especially on the fate of women, whose rights and freedoms have fallen victim to rising fundamentalisms in a chaotic postwar society.

With thousands of loyal readers worldwide, the Riverbend blog is widely recognized around the world as a crucial source of information not available through the mainstream media. The book version of this blog will have "value-added" features: an introduction and timeline of events by veteran journalist James Ridgeway, excerpts from Riverbend's links and an epilogue by Riverbend herself.

About this title

Product Description:

Title: Baghdad Burning( Girl Blog from Iraq) <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: Riverbend <>Publisher: FeministPress

Review:

"Anyone who cares about the war in Iraq must read this book." --Susan Sarandon

"Feisty and learned: first-rate reading for any American who suspects that Fox News may not be telling the whole story." --Kirkus Reviews

"Riverbend's commentary [is] passionate, frustrated, sarcastic and sometimes hopeful. . . . It offers quick takes on events as they occur, from a perspective too often overlooked, ignored or suppressed." --Publishers Weekly

"A cross between an underground manifesto and a polished cultural history. . . . With its blend of first-person mouthing off and spirited documentary style, Baghdad Burning offers fair and balanced coverage from inside one of the most rapidly changing--and poorly understood--regions in the world." --Time Out New York

"Her descriptions of normal life in Iraq, adds a dimension to the war coverage that Western journalists have largely missed. Highly recommended to anyone following the conflict." --Library Journal

"Her command of the English language, and her knowledge of the Western world and of her own culture, make this book even more precious. Riverbend's aim is to raise understanding between Iraqis and Americans while she stands up against stereotypes on both sides. I would recommend Baghdad Burning." --MultiCultural Review

About this edition

• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1558614893
• ISBN 13: 9781558614895
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304