The Miracle of the Kurds: A Remarkable Story of Hope Reborn In Northern Iraq
Written by Stephen Mansfield
Narrated by Stephen Mansfield
4/5
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About this audiobook
Kurdistan is what America wanted Iraq to be. It's America's reward.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurds were murdered under the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein. Some four thousand Kurdish villages were destroyed. Betrayed again and again by the nations of the world, the Kurds were as decimated as any people in history.
Then came the Kurdish Miracle, that combination of ancient wisdom and modern economic genius that is now making the Kurdish homeland one of the most prosperous places on earth. Many experts predict that this homeland will soon be the world's newest nation.
Stephen Mansfield witnessed much of this history. In this audio book, he has turned the skills that have made him a New York Times best-selling author upon the Kurdish story. He has captured the agony and the determination, the horror and the genius of one of the most remarkable stories of our time.
Stephen Mansfield
Stephen Mansfield is the New York Times bestselling author of Lincoln's Battle with God, The Faith of Barack Obama, Pope Benedict XVI, Searching for God and Guinness, and Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Beverly.
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Reviews for The Miracle of the Kurds
12 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A moving tale of a people without a home facing nothing but hardship but refusing to give up their smiles. Mansfield describes his experience with these unsung heroes in a sobering way, not shying away from talking about the good, the bad and the ugly parts of Kurdish history.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I have long been interested in the Kurds because of their wonderful sumack carpets and other textiles so I requested this book from NetGalley.com. I happen to know a person who worked in Northern Iraq for a number of years and I asked for an opinion on this book. Here's the reply:A book that extols the virtues of Massoud Barzani is not serious, and describing Barzani as a hero is laughable. Barzani is the most corrupt government guy on the planet, and that means a lot coming from a person who has lived in Egypt and Lebanon [in addition to Iraq]. Never have I run into a more corrupt government than that in Arbil. The FAO was in Kurdistan for years before Saddam got kicked out, and there is no evidence of their efforts. Everything was stolen and sold to Turkey or Iran, or simply kept in a garage somewhere.So there you go. How far can we trust the rest of the book?
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was an inside look at a people that little of the world knows anything about. The world knows that the Kurds were gassed by Saddam Hussein’s forces and hundreds of thousands were killed. They were persecuted in Turkey and in Syria. Now we hear of their courage in standing up to ISIS. From victims to heroes, who are the true Kurds? Stephen Mansfield does a remarkable job of telling about these people in an easy-to-read, fun to read, and concise manner.The Kurds have made remarkable economic progress since the 1990s. They have also made amazing in their struggle for freedom. And this progress came at the least expected way -- a result of our war in Iraq and the establishment of the no-fly zone.At one time the Kurds were persecuted and lived in poverty. Under Turkey’s Ataturk, anything Kurdish was banned – language, dress, literature. Then later the Shah of Iran ordered all Kurdish leaders be executed. But the Kurdish people are resilient.Mansfield explains that northern Iraq is as different from Baghdad as Northern California is from Southern California. He makes the powerful statement that Kurdistan is what America wanted Iraq to be. It is what we wanted from the war. The Kurds are among the gentlest and most poetic people in the world. I worked with a few Kurds in Iraq and can vouch for this. The Kurds have claimed to be “the people without a friend”. If you look at their history, it is understandable how they would believe that.Mansfield gives a very interesting look at the history of the Kurdish people. He goes all the way back to the ancient Medes from whom the Kurds believe themselves to be descendants. He explains how they came to be known as skilled fighters from the mountains. Their decline seems to have accelerated in 1500 AD when trade shifted from caravans to sea travel. At one point in time some Kurdish areas came under Russian control. The Kurds were exposed to a European empire with new ideas for that time. They also learned new technologies and gained access to the world markets. Their young were sent to European colleges. They had liberal concepts of religious tolerance and visions of an ethnic nationalism.But then in the mid-1800’s they had a major setback when religious fanaticism hit them. Then they lost the support of the western world. Now Kurds are of a variety of religions: Muslim, Christian, Jew, Yezidi, Sufi, Baha’i.In 1970 Iraq’s constitution was amended to recognize that Iraq was made up of two nationalities –Arab and Kurdish. Kurdish recognized as second official language of Iraq. But the very next year they were again denied their rights as citizens. In the 1980s, Saddam Hussein had Kurdish villages gassed resulting in the deaths of over 200,000 Kurds. Then in 1991 the US and United Kingdom established a “no-fly” zone over most of Iraqi Kurdistan. This is when a de facto Kurdish state came into existence.In 2005 under Iraq’s new constitution, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, became the first democratically elected and Kurdish president of Iraq. Under protection of the no-fly zone, Kurds prospered. They invested in regional development. Regional government policies were designed specifically to attract foreign investment. Foreign investors were granted equal status with indigenous investors. They were given huge tax breaks with full rights of ownership and profit. Billions of investment dollars poured in, creating jobs and elevating the standard of living. By 2010 Kurdistan had a world class airport, six-star hotels, new cars, nice restaurants, lovely city parks, and quiet, elegant neighborhoods. In their private schools, classes are taught only in English. One of the largest and most successful schools in Kurdistan is Christian. Most of its students come from Muslim families. Public schools would no longer favor Islam; all religions would be taught equally.This is a story of a non-conforming people who are truly proud of their heritage. Hopefully, their future will be as fruitful as it appears to be developing.
1 person found this helpful