The other night I saw Steve Coll discuss his latest book, The Bin Ladens (Penguin Press; April 2008). The New York Times ran a great review of the book, saying:

“…by focusing on Mr. bin Laden’s conflicted relationship with his family and that family’s complicated relationship with the West, Mr. Coll, a staff writer for The New Yorker who also worked for many years at The Washington Post, has added fascinating new details to our understanding of how Mr. bin Laden evolved from a loyal family adjutant into an angry black sheep, intent on lashing out at the very people — the Saudi royal family and the United States of America — that his father and brothers had cultivated in their business dealings for years.”

Coll’s book, from what I have read so far and from what I heard Coll describe about his work, appears to be a light-hearted take on this dark character. It is not the usual book on politics and “the war on terror.” It is a book about the unlikely rise of a dangerous man from a not-so-dangerous family.

Coll was a wonderful storyteller, captivating and passionate. If the book is anything like the author, it will be near impossible to put down.

I recently saw Haifa Zangana speak about her book City Widows: An Iraqi Woman’s Account of War and Resistance (Seven Stories Press; November 15, 2007; $20).

She discussed women in Iraqi society throughout the 20th century, from the 1920’s until the present day occupation of her country. She mentioned women owned magazines and pages in daily newspapers devoted to women poets and writers, even under the Ba’ath regime.

The main reason for her book was to show that Bush’s couching of the war in Iraq, not only perpetuated by the fear of weapons of mass destruction, but to liberate Iraqi women was also a farce. Haifa wanted to show through historical documentation that Iraqi women were already liberated and enjoyed equality in Iraqi society and now, because of the occupation and as in most wars, the status of women in Iraq has deteriorated rapidly, often at the hands of foreign forces. In fact, her book is dedicated to ‘Abir Hamza, the 14 year-old girl who was raped and burned alive by the American Marines after her family was killed.

Haifa does not glorify the Ba’ath party years in Iraq and mentioned the censorship and fear under the regime but I feel as if the current situation in the country has given people rose-colored glasses when looking back to the past, which is in itself quite sad and I have a hard time blaming Haifa for discussing history in such a fashion.

HAIFA ZANGANA is an Iraqi political commentator, and novelist. She is a weekly columnist for al-Quds newspaper and a commentator for The Guardian, Red Pepper, and al-Ahram Weekly. She lives in London.
http://www.sevenstories.com/book/?GCOI=58322100075330&fa=author&person_id=305&publishergcoicode=58322