Unlike other publications since the downfall of Saddam's regime, Iraq: Then & Now traces the history of the country from ancient times until the present. Supplementary boxes, many written by Iraqis themselves, reflect on life today as compared with life in Saddam's Iraq and even earlier, describing their experiences, hopes, fears, ambitions and visions for the future.
The book self-consciously avoids making any judgement on the political debate surrounding the 2003 war and subsequent occupation; instead it presents the varying views, and offers a rounded, balanced picture.
Published to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the change, this guide to the country and its people, provides information on Iraq's culture and archaeology, the south, Baghdad and the Sunni Triangle. The northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan stands apart as a success story and the travel appendix provides essential information for the increasing numbers of visitors to this region.

• Iragi voices - from poets to politicians
• A-Z of major archeological sites
• The 'lost generation': Irags in exile
• Travel practicalities for Kurdistan (the only area currently open to tourism)
• Looking forward: brief iteneraries for future travel in the rest of Iraq

Long ago in the fertile valleys between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the great civilisations of the age were born. Modern Iraq was ancient Mesopotamia, from the Greek meaning 'between two rivers', and it was here that human beings first began to cultivate their land, where writing was invented and where the Assyrians, Sumerians and Babylonians all made Iraq the centre of the ancient world.

Iraq has now dominated international news headlines for more than a decade for all the wrong reasons, just as Vietnam did three decades before it. The country's future is uncertain, with Iraqis struggling to eke out an existence and build the institutions of a democratic Iraq against the backdrop of political and religious tension, and amid the numbing constancy of terrorist attacks.

Although there is finally some light at the end of the long, black tunnel, with the exception of Iraqi Kurdistan much of Iraq remains too dangerous for independent travellers. The future is far from certain, but with its rich history and warm hospitality, Iraq could soon become one of the great travel destinations of the Middle East, insha’ Allah.

Detailed field guide dealing exclusively with the birds of the region. It covers all species found in the Arabian Peninsula (including Socotra), Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Cyprus.
All species are illustrated on colour plates (by J Gale, M Langman and B Small), with distribution maps appearing opposite the plates, complete with notes on status and preferred habitat.

• The only comprehensive field guide to the birds in this region
• Over 820 species, including all breeding species and regular visitors
• Species accounts cover all key identification features, as well as distribution and status
• 176 colour plates by three of the world's leading bird illustrators
• Detailed maps show latest breeding, wintering and migration distributions for all species

This is a completely revised second edition. For the first time, the text and maps appear opposite the plates. There are more than 100 new species.

In 1928, Archibald Hamilton traveled to Iraqi Kurdistan, having been commissioned to build a road that would stretch from Northern Iraq, through the mountains and gorges of Kurdistan and on to the Iranian border. Now called the Hamilton Road, this was, even by today's standards, a considerable feat of engineering and remains one of the most strategically important roads in the region.
In this colorful and engaging account, Hamilton describes the four years he spent overcoming immense obstacles--disease, ferocious brigands, warring tribes and bureaucratic officials--to carve a path through some of the most beautiful but inhospitable landscape in the world.
Archibald Milne Hamilton was an engineer, born in New Zealand, who worked for many years in the Middle East.

Bouwen aan de prille democratie van Irak In een persoonlijk verhaal laat Judit Neurink haar worsteling zien met de leefgewoonten en werkomstandigheden in Irak waarmee ze bij het opzetten van het een mediacentrum wordt geconfronteerd.
Aanvankelijk denkt ze een jaar nodig te hebben voor dit project. Maar ze raakt betrokken bij de dagelijkse beslommeringen van haar medewerkers. Langzaamaan wordt ze opgenomen in een grote familie waarvan ze zich niet meer kan en wil losmaken. Ze besluit te blijven.

Judit Neurink (1957) is al ruim 25 jaar journalist, hoofdzakelijk voor dagblad Trouw. Ze schrijft vooral over het Midden-Oosten, dat ze veelvuldig bezocht.
Sinds april 2008 woont ze in de Noord-Iraakse stad Suleymania, waar ze het Independent Media Centre Kurdistan (IMCK) opzette. Ze organiseert er trainingen voor journalisten met als doel de kwaliteit van de media in Irak te verbeteren en de prille Koerdische democratie te ondersteunen met onafhankelijke pers.