Saddam Hussein : a political biography / Efraim Karsh and Inari Rautsi

London : Brassey's , 1991. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine cloth copy in a near fine, very slightly edge-nicked and dust-dulled dust wrapper, now mylar-sleeved. Remains particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and sharp-cornered. Physical description; viii, 307 p. ; 23 cm. : ; maps. Notes; Includes bibliography and index. Contents; The man and his world; the lean years; second among equals; the Algiers Agreement; the ""strong man in Baghdad""; President; the house that Hussein built; ""Qadisiyat Saddam""; the origins of the Gulf War; riding the storm (1980-88); Kuwait and beyond; perspectives. Summary; Whatever the outcome for Saddam Hussein of his foray into Kuwait, the world will continue to wonder just who he is, or was, and exactly how he ruled. In this biography, two specialists in Middle East history and politics have avoided the tendency to demonize Saddam. They debunk the perception of an irrational and unpredictable leader who would stop at nothing in pursuit of his incoherent goals, and instead portray a calculating and cautious man who, although ruthless and brutal, weighs his options carefully. While accounts of Iraqi policy tend to show Saddam as an expansionist motivated by the unbridled ambition of dominating the Middle East, this book describes his modus operandi in terms of a ceaseless struggle for political - and physical - survival; a pattern of aggressive behaviour based on distrust and insecurity. Subjects; Hussein, Saddam (1937-2006). Iraq-Kuwait Crisis, 91990-1991). Presidents - Iraq - Biography. Iraq - Politics and government. Iraq - History - (1958-). Politics. Iraq. biography, individual. Politics & government ; Biography & autobiography: historical, political & military. Biography & Autobiography / General. Presidents - Iraq. Saddam Hussein. Genre; Biography.