| Shant Kendarian's visit to Baghdad in 1980 at age seventeen was supposed to be short, just long enough to make peace with his estranged father before returning home to the United States. But Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and sealed off Iraq's borders to every man of military age—including Shant. Suddenly forced onto the frontlines, Shant saw his two-week visit turn into a nightmare that lasted for ten years.
After the horrors of the Iran-Iraq War, Shant was forced to fight in Desert Storm. He miraculously survived two wars, minefields, sinking boats, fires, starvation, heavy interrogation, and solitary confinement, but what broke him in the end was his love affair with a female soldier named Monica. Yet throughout this whole ordeal, Shant never lost his respect for people, his faith in God, or his sense of humor.
Gripping from the very first page, 1001 Nights in Iraq presents a human story that provides unique insight into a country and culture that are only hinted at in the headlines.
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| "If it was only a war story it would be riveting. If it was only a love story it would be profoundly moving. And if it was only the story of a man never losing home in the face of bureaucracy, bigotry, and bad luck—it would be an inspiration. But it is all of those things and a good deal more."—Scott Z. Burns, producer of An Inconvenient Truth
"1001 Nights in Iraq rivals anything in the fantastic tales narrated by Scheherazade. But Kenderian's story is true, making it all the more astonishing....And only a storyteller of extraordinary talent could have related it with such humanity, grace, and humor." -— Andrew Carroll, New York Times bestselling editor of War Letters and Behind the Lines
“Strangely compelling memoir by a self-described ‘man without a country.’....The splendidly preposterous facts overwhelm any infirmities in the telling of this amazing personal history.”—Kirkus Reviews
"Shant Kenderian takes us on an emotional journey that is both tormented and complex....What a ride!"—Liz Balmaseda, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist |
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