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Men and the City
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Wikipedia article
'Men and the City' ( 'rujjl wa-madna') is a 320-page novel by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein[http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2665 Shiite books go from banned to bestsellers in Iraq : ThingsAsian] which was published in 2002. The work was largely autobiographical in nature and describes how Saddam Hussein's grandfather fought the Turks during the Ottoman Empire.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3DE133AF933A05755C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 The struggle for Iraq: The prisoner; Banned, Then Bootlegged, Saddam Hussein the Literary Lion Roars Again - New York Times] It also focuses on the rise of the Ba'ath Party and several of Saddam's relatives including his uncle.[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/jul/06/fiction.iraq Heroes and villains | Books | The Guardian] It was the third work which Saddam published.[http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2003/12/saddam-in-la-la-land Saddam in La-La Land :: Daniel Pipes] The hero of the novel is a character named Saleh but it is widely assumed that the novel is a thinly veiled autobiography of Saddam himself.[https://web.archive.org/web/20121104013528/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-72586854.html Novel attributed to Iraqi leader portrays a young, fearless Saddam - AP Worldstream | HighBeam Research - FREE trial]
Although there are some suggestions that the text was ghost written, a review of 'Men and the City' by Sa'adoon Al-Zubaydi, Saddam Hussein's presidential translator, confirms that Saddam was indeed the author:
Saddam Hussein, the former ruler of Iraq, published four books in total. All of his works were published under the pen-name 'the author' probably to preach his ideology. Although the Iraqi government included the books on the nations' syllabus for Iraqi schools, after the war the Saddam's books enjoyed something of a renaissance, with official copies and bootleg copies of his last book selling out.
Before the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, 'Men and the City' along with two of Saddam's other novels 'Zabibah and the King' and 'The Fortified Castle' were put on the syllabus of Iraqi schools. Saddam's name never appeared on any of the front covers with "A novel written by its author" appearing instead.[http://timesonline.typepad.com/inside_iraq_weblog/2007/01/index.html Inside Iraq Blog Times Online WBLG:] The novel was like Saddam's previous literary efforts praised by Iraqi literary critics and authors upon its publication.[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Saddam+Hussein+may+have+written+fourth+book.-a0102550295 Saddam Hussein may have written fourth book. - Free Online Library]
See also
*Saddam Hussein's novels
References
Category:Novels by Saddam Hussein
Category:2002 novels
Category:Political autobiographies
Category:Novels set in Iraq
Category:Works published anonymously
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