A fascinating insight into the complexity, history and unpredictability of Iraq from Rory Stewart, bestselling author of Politics on the Edge and host of hit podcast The Rest Is Politics.

By September 2003, six months after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the anarchy had begun. Rory Stewart, a young Biritish diplomat, was appointed as the Coalition Provisional Authority's deputy governor of a province of 850,000 people in the southern marshland region. There, he and his colleagues confronted gangsters, Iranian-linked politicians, tribal vendettas and a full Islamist insurgency.

Occupational Hazards is Rory Stewart's inside account of the attempt to rebuild a nation, the errors made, the misunderstandings and insurmountable difficulties encountered. It reveals an Iraq hidden from most foreign journalists and soldiers. Stewart is an award-winning writer, gifted with extraordinary insight into the comedy, occasional heroism and moral risks of foreign occupation.

'Beautifully written, highly evocative . . . a joy to read' - John Simpson

'A marvellous book . . . a devastating narrative' - Simon Jenkins

'Absolutely absorbing' - Ken Loach

'Strikes gut and brain at once' - James Meek

'Wonderfully observed, wise, evocative' - Observer

About the Author
Rory Stewart was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Malaysia and Scotland. After a brief period in the British Army and the Foreign Office he walked 6,000 miles across from Iraq to Nepal. His account of walking across Afghanistan, The Places In Between, was published by Picador in 2004, won the RSL Oondatje Award, the Spirit Of Scotland Award, and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize and Scottish Book Of The Year. In America it was a New York Times Bestseller. He was awarded an OBE in 2004.

Reviews
Beautifully written, highly evocative . . . a joy to read. -- John Simpson
A marvellous book . . . a devastating narrative. -- Simon Jenkins
Absolutely absorbing. -- Ken Loach
Strikes gut and brain at once. -- James Meek
Wonderfully observed, wise, evocative. * Observer *
The best book by far to come out of the Iraq mess. * Sunday Herald *


Awards
Short-listed for John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2007 (UK). Long-listed for BBC Four Samuel Johnson Prize 2007 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9780330440509
Author Rory Stewart
Format Paperback
Page Count 464
Imprint Picador
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 322g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 131mm * 30mm