Razoux has produced the best book available on this important war. The iraniraq war was a war between the armed forces of iraq and iran lasting from september 1980 to august 1988. Theres a big section on his investigation into the armenian genocide which he was instrumental in uncovering, a big section on the soviet invasion of afghanistan, one on osama bin laden he was the first western journalist to interview him, and a large section on being on the front lines of the iran iraq war, probably about 200 pages. The iraniraq war, by pierre razoux the new york times.
What is the best book to read about the iraqiran war. His book is better than the other recently published work on the subject by williamson murray and kevin woods, which is thin and hastilywritten. Scattered border clashes occurred in 1972, after which iraq expelled some 72,000 iranians from iraq. From 1980 to 1988, iran and iraq fought the longest conventional war of the twentieth century. Known for its brutality and violent conditions, khorramshahr came to be known by the iranians as khuninshahr persian. The iran iraq war was an armed conflict between the islamic republic of iran and the republic of iraq lasting from september 1980 to august 1988. Professor karsh addresses the causes of the iraniraq war, unpacking the objectives of the two belligerents. Iraniraq war, 19801988, iraqi politics, books barnes. The iraniraq war as a foundation of understanding historical and cultural background, 1982 decision, fao offensive, arms for hostages. The old social classes and the revolutionary movements of iraq is seen as a landmark study of iraq s social formation during the 20th century hanna batatu was the great iraqi historian a man of perception and gigantic knowledge of the social, sectarian and ethnic background in iraq.
The iran iraq war is one of the largest, yet least documented conflicts in the history of the middle east. Drawing from an extensive cache of captured iraqi government records, this book is the first comprehensive military and strategic account of the war through the lens of the iraqi regime and its senior military commanders. The complete persepolis by marjane satrapi, the iraniraq war by pierre razoux, revolutionary iran. This is a masterwork and anyone interested in where iran goes next.
If someone had absolutely no background in middle eastern history, they would come away with the impression that iraq was completely blameless, when in fact iraq initially began the war. By then there was already unambiguous evidence indicating the urgency of defusing the imminent danger posed by iraq and its primary allies in the growing terrorist conspiracy. One cannot comprehend the situation in the gulf todaythe iranian nuclear program or the political crises in baghdad and tehranwithout understanding the frustrations and fears that sprang from that war. Pierre razoux offers an unflinching look at a conflict seared into the regions collective memory but little understood in the west. The battle took place from september 22 to november 10, 1980. Iran iraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military history book by tom cooper and farzad bishop. I n iran, every spring, thousands of families travel to the battle sites of the iran iraq war 198088. The iran iraq war was originally referred to as the persian gulf war until the persian gulf war of 1990 and 1991, after which it was known as the first persian gulf war. The french defense expert pierre razouxs book on the 19801988 iraniraq war is superb and hugely topical razoux has a brilliant and. Michael burleigh the times pierre razouxs the iraniraq war is better by a mile than most of the military history that floods the english market. Despite its small and squeezed font, the content is attractive as the book thoroughly covers the 8year iraqiran war. Evening standard razoux, research director at the institute for strategic research in paris, has made use of.
The books are arranged in order of date, beginning with the most recent. The battle lasted for 34 days, and saw an immense investment of iraqi. List of iranian aerial victories during the iraniraq war. From 1980 to 1988 iran and iraq fought the longest conventional war of the century. The iraniraq war, which ended in august 1988, one month short of its eighth anniversary, was one of the longest, bloodiest and costliest third world armed conflicts in the twentieth century. Top 10 books about the iraq war books the guardian. Pierre razoux shows why this war remains central to understanding middle eastern geopolitics, from the deeprooted distrust between sunni and shia muslims, to iran s obsession with nuclear power, to the. Its definitely better than murraywoods book because it relies on a much wider series of sources and shows a much better understanding of the war and the political battles within. Iraniraq war, 19801988, iraqi politics, nook books. From 1980 to 1988, iran and iraq fought the longest war of the tw.
The memoir was recorded through thousands of hours of conversation between zahra hosseini and azam hosseini, while parts of the book are autobiography by the narrator. Williamson murray is professor emeritus at the ohio state university and senior fellow at ida. An evening standard best book of 2015 pierre razouxs the iraniraq war is better by a mile than most of the military history that floods the english market. The tragedies included the slaughter of child soldiers, the use of chemical weapons, the striking of civilian shipping in the gulf, and the destruction of cities. Pierre razouxs the iraniraq war is an interesting account of one of the largest conventional military conflicts of the past halfcentury, and one that is little understood. List of books and articles about iraniraq war online. The iran iraq war ended in 1988, with 320,000720,000 iranian soldiers and militia killed.
Beyond that however, karshs book provides a limited and somewhat helpful overview of the military and political aspects that influenced the war. It then goes year by year from 19801988, detailing air operations of both. The iraniraq war pierre razoux harvard university press. Goodreads members who liked the iran iraq war also liked. The iraniraq war offers an unflinching look at a conflict seared into the regions collective memory but little understood in the west. Some of the best books out there about the wars in iraq and afghanistan score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The complete persepolis by marjane satrapi, the iran iraq war by pierre razoux, revolutionary iran. Passengers of light visit iraniraq war memorials a. Discover librarianselected research resources on iraniraq war from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines. Its extremely focused on the air war during the iran iraq war. Find books like the iran iraq war from the worlds largest community of readers.
The american military adventure in iraq by thomas e. Dar almamun for translation and publishing, 1987, by saddam hussein multiple formats at. It was commonly called the persian gulf war until iraq invaded kuwait in 1990. List of books and articles about iraniraq war online research. It included tragic slaughter of child soldiers, use of chemical weapons, striking of civilian shipping, and destruction of cities. The iraniraq war marked a turning point in the history of the middle east. The united states and iran have been engaged in an unacknowledged secret war since the 1970s. This is the definitive book on the iraniraq war and well worth owning for anyone with an interest in the topic. With a good amount of information, mostly from news reports, hiro produces an account of the history of animosity between the two oil rich neigbors. The gulf war, the origins and implications of the iraq iran conflict was a huge disappointment. The new york times the dramatic secret history of the undeclared, ongoing war between the u.
The confirmed victories are bold and probable victories are italic in the column of victims. The war started in september 1980, when saddam hussein, perceiving a significant threat in irans recent islamic revolution, sent his troops. Khadduris other books on iraq were highly informative histories. Iraniraq war, 198088, protracted military conflict between iran and iraq.
Deserves a spot on the short list of mustread books on united states iran relations. Murray and woods shed new light on the war and its conduct at the highest levels mainly from the iraqi, but also from the iranian point of view. Book description the iran iraq war is one of the largest, yet least documented conflicts in the history of the middle east. You can find several books for each branch on the internet. Karshs book on the iraniraq war not only suffers from only skimming the surface of a complex subject, but there is also a fairly obvious proiraqi bias. Next up is a book that provides very good background for what happened. The french defense expert pierre razouxs book on the 19801988 iraniraq war is superb and hugely topical razoux has a brilliant and economical way of. Back then, to my mind, the word iraq evoked a place. Efraim karsh the iran iraq war, which ended in august 1988 one month short of its eighth anniversary was one of the longest, bloodiest, and costliest third world armed conflicts in the twentieth century. The iraniraq war by pierre razoux, hardcover barnes.
Literature, poem, knowledge history, effect of persian language on the world literature, human rights cylinder tablet, constructions, wars. Pierre razoux shows why this war remains central to understanding middle eastern geopolitics, from the deeprooted distrust between sunni and. The iraq kuwait war, which the united states entered, later was called the persian gulf war or the gulf war the war began when iraq invaded iran on 22 september 1980, after a long history of border. The iran iraq war was one of the longest, bloodiest, and costliest third world armed conflicts in the twentieth century. In the new book, called target iran, scott ritter, who served as a senior u. This one starts off with a very conventional explanation of the background to the iran iraq war, and then repeats all of iraq s claims about why the war started and how iran refused to end it. The iraq kuwait conflict, which was known as the second persian gulf war, eventually became known simply as the persian gulf war.
This books explores the complicated political and religious reasons behind the war, giving insight into some of the conflicts that currently impact the middle east. The list includes victories by islamic republic of iran air force as well as the kills by the islamic republic of iran army aviation helicopters. During the eight years between iraq s formal declaration of war on september 22, 1980, and iran s acceptance of a ceasefire with effect on july 20, 1988, at the very least half a million and. Very topical too since we will be getting to know iran much more in future and its history should be required reading. It briefly goes over the history of each nations respective air force and their aircraft and armament. Jeremy black, military history although it was the longest war of the 20th century and caused over a million casualties, the iraniraq war is largely forgotten by the western world outside of a few military analysts and middle east scholars in spite of the. The books on the iran iraq war have been neither voluminous nor satisfying, in part because iran and iraq have remained relatively closed to scholars, and no. A marines chronicle of the gulf war and other battles 2003 by anthony swofford out of the 1991 war against iraq comes anthony swofford, a marine sniper, to say in his book that he had a ball. The iraniraq war is one of the largest, yet least documented conflicts in the history of the middle east.
505 397 703 557 745 657 1489 1484 486 1361 1474 128 823 1071 782 801 231 806 677 216 824 89 1370 395 1136 264 1341 1157 409 785 113 1368 1332 1206 176 1191 262 130 992