Wrestling For Saddam

Wrestling For Saddam PDF Author: Bob Roop
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Get Book Here

Book Description
A true story of American Olympian Bob Roop who, in 1972, was hired by fraud to wrestle in Iraq. When he defeated the Iraqi champion wrestler in a match seen by a live audience of 200,000 and televised throughout Iraq and the Arab Middle East, Roop was held hostage by Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi dictator used the wrestling spectaculars as political rallies, correlating athletic success with the strength of his ruling political party. Because the wrestling loss weakened his party and political control, he kidnapped Roop and coerced him by torture to wrestle another bout. After the second contest, Roop narrowly escaped two assassination attempts by the mass murderer. Sworn to secrecy by the clandestine US operatives who spirited him out of Iraq, Roop has waited almost the fifty years promised by his oath to tell this tale of atrocity and betrayal. Wrestling for Saddam tells why Roop so badly needed rescue-without it, he would be tortured into admission as an Israeli agent and executed.

Wrestling For Saddam

Wrestling For Saddam PDF Author: Bob Roop
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Get Book Here

Book Description
A true story of American Olympian Bob Roop who, in 1972, was hired by fraud to wrestle in Iraq. When he defeated the Iraqi champion wrestler in a match seen by a live audience of 200,000 and televised throughout Iraq and the Arab Middle East, Roop was held hostage by Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi dictator used the wrestling spectaculars as political rallies, correlating athletic success with the strength of his ruling political party. Because the wrestling loss weakened his party and political control, he kidnapped Roop and coerced him by torture to wrestle another bout. After the second contest, Roop narrowly escaped two assassination attempts by the mass murderer. Sworn to secrecy by the clandestine US operatives who spirited him out of Iraq, Roop has waited almost the fifty years promised by his oath to tell this tale of atrocity and betrayal. Wrestling for Saddam tells why Roop so badly needed rescue-without it, he would be tortured into admission as an Israeli agent and executed.

The Sheikh of Baghdad

The Sheikh of Baghdad PDF Author: Adnan Alkaissy
Publisher: Triumph Books (IL)
ISBN: 9781572437302
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Sheikh of Baghdad is the true story of one man's journey across two continents to find his place in the world. It is an unbelievable rags-to-riches-to-rags story with wrestling as a metaphor for life itself. Adnan Alkaissy, better known as professional wrestling's General Adnan, can finally, safely, tell his story now that Saddam Hussein-a childhood companion, powerful associate, then threat to Alkaissy and his family-is in custody awaiting trial. An odd juxtaposition of two very different worlds, this incomparable life story encompasses both the hilarious tales of what life was like in and out of the squared circle of professional wrestling and stories of heartache and despair from a man whose country is trying to find itself once again. It is also the story of a man's desire to achieve closure on a separate life lived many years ago. Finally, it is a story about a man, now in his midsixties, who wants nothing more than to go home to a free and democratic Iraq so that he can finally introduce his new family to his old one. The Sheikh of Baghdad is the story of an Iraqi American trying to make a difference in this post-9-11 world by telling his story to provide a small ray of hope for peace in the tumultuous Middle East. Book jacket.

What We Owe Iraq

What We Owe Iraq PDF Author: Noah Feldman
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400826225
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 165

Get Book Here

Book Description
What do we owe Iraq? America is up to its neck in nation building--but the public debate, focused on getting the troops home, devotes little attention to why we are building a new Iraqi nation, what success would look like, or what principles should guide us. What We Owe Iraq sets out to shift the terms of the debate, acknowledging that we are nation building to protect ourselves while demanding that we put the interests of the people being governed--whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, or elsewhere--ahead of our own when we exercise power over them. Noah Feldman argues that to prevent nation building from turning into a paternalistic, colonialist charade, we urgently need a new, humbler approach. Nation builders should focus on providing security, without arrogantly claiming any special expertise in how successful nation-states should be made. Drawing on his personal experiences in Iraq as a constitutional adviser, Feldman offers enduring insights into the power dynamics between the American occupiers and the Iraqis, and tackles issues such as Iraqi elections, the prospect of successful democratization, and the way home. Elections do not end the occupier's responsibility. Unless asked to leave, we must resist the temptation of a military pullout before a legitimately elected government can maintain order and govern effectively. But elections that create a legitimate democracy are also the only way a nation builder can put itself out of business and--eventually--send its troops home. Feldman's new afterword brings the Iraq story up-to-date since the book's original publication in 2004, and asks whether the United States has acted ethically in pushing the political process in Iraq while failing to control the security situation; it also revisits the question of when, and how, to withdraw.

The Squared Circle

The Squared Circle PDF Author: David Shoemaker
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1592408818
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Get Book Here

Book Description
A breakthrough examination of the professional wrestling, its history, its fans, and its wider cultural impact The Squared Circle grows out of David Shoemaker’s writing for Deadspin, where he started the column “Dead Wrestler of the Week” (which boasts more than 1 million page views)—a feature on the many wrestling superstars who died too young because of the abuse they subject their bodies to—and his writing for Grantland, where he covers the pro wrestling world, and its place in the pop culture mainstream. Shoemaker’s sportswriting has since struck a nerve with generations of wrestling fans who—like him—grew up worshipping a sport often derided as “fake” in the wider culture. To them, these professional wrestling superstars are not just heroes but an emotional outlet and the lens through which they learned to see the world. Starting in the early 1900s and exploring the path of pro wrestling in America through the present day, The Squared Circle is the first book to acknowledge both the sport’s broader significance and wrestling fans’ keen intellect and sense of irony. Divided into eras, each section offers a snapshot of the wrestling world, profiles some of the period’s preeminent wrestlers, and the sport’s influence on our broader culture. Through the brawling, bombast, and bloodletting, Shoemaker argues that pro wrestling can teach us about the nature of performance, audience, and, yes, art. Full of unknown history, humor, and self-deprecating reminiscence—but also offering a compelling look at the sport’s rightful place in pop culture—The Squared Circle is the book that legions of wrestling fans have been waiting for. In it, Shoemaker teaches us to look past the spandex and body slams to see an art form that can explain the world.

The Clinton Tapes

The Clinton Tapes PDF Author: Taylor Branch
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416543333
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 730

Get Book Here

Book Description
Former President Bill Clinton speaks intimately over seven years to his long-time friend, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, about what it's like to be president. Providing illuminating commentaries on major issues, these conversations depict Clinton as a principled man with a restless intellect. b&w photographs.

Disarming Iraq

Disarming Iraq PDF Author: Glen Segell
Publisher: Glen Segell Publishers
ISBN: 1901414264
Category : Arms control
Languages : en
Pages : 666

Get Book Here

Book Description


From Hitler's Germany to Saddam's Iraq

From Hitler's Germany to Saddam's Iraq PDF Author: Scott A. Silverstone
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442274468
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book boldly challenges conventional wisdom about the value of preventive war, beginning with the rise of Hitler’s Germany through the disastrous invasion of Iraq. Silverstone argues that the Rhineland crisis leading up to WWII presents a critical case for studying power shifts among states—and the preventive war temptation that results.

Ringmaster

Ringmaster PDF Author: Abraham Josephine Riesman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982169451
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 496

Get Book Here

Book Description
This definitive biography of Vince McMahon, former WWE chairman and CEO, is “riveting, essential reading” (Rick Perlstein, New York Times bestselling author) as it charts his rise from rural poverty to the throne of one of the world’s most influential media empires. Featuring exclusive interviews with more than 150 people who witnessed, aided, and suffered from his ascent. Even if you’ve never watched a minute of professional wrestling, you are living in Vince McMahon’s world. In his four decades as the defining figure of American pro wrestling, McMahon was the man behind Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, John Cena, Dave Bautista, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, and Hulk Hogan, to name just a few of the mega-stars who owe him their careers. For more than twenty-five years, he has also been a performer in his own show, acting as the diabolical “Mr. McMahon”—a figure who may have more in common with the real Vince than he would care to admit. Just as importantly, McMahon is one of Donald Trump’s closest friends—and Trump’s experiences as a performer in McMahon’s programming were, in many ways, a dress rehearsal for the 45th President’s campaigns and presidency. McMahon and his wife, Linda, are major Republican donors. Linda was in Trump’s cabinet. McMahon makes deals with the Saudi government worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And for generations of people who have watched wrestling, he has been a defining cultural force and has helped foment “the worst of contemporary politics” (Kirkus Reviews). Ringmaster built on exclusive interviews with more than 150 people, from McMahon’s childhood friends to those who accuse him of destroying their lives. “Smart, entertaining, impressively reported, and beautifully written. Wrestling fans will devour it, but everyone who wants to better understand this crazy country and one of its truly original characters ought to read it” (Jonathan Eig, author of Ali: A Life).

A Journey, a Reckoning, and a Miracle

A Journey, a Reckoning, and a Miracle PDF Author: K. J. Fraser
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 1846942063
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 447

Get Book Here

Book Description
Set in America after 2008, A Journey, a Reckoning and a Miracle follows the stories of Lucy, a seventeen year old Rapture believer who travels on a pilgrimage to honor the dead but finds the living; George, a former leader, who through suffering, finally acknowledges his tragic mistakes and begins atonement; and Judith, a severely wounded Iraq War vet who recovers her identity, voice and sense of humor with the help of her loved ones.

The Prisoner in His Palace

The Prisoner in His Palace PDF Author: Will Bardenwerper
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501117858
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the tradition of In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song, this haunting, insightful, and surprisingly intimate portrait of Saddam Hussein provides “a brief, but powerful, meditation on the meaning of evil and power” (USA TODAY). The “captivating” (Military Times) The Prisoner in His Palace invites us to take a journey with twelve young American soldiers in the summer of 2006. Shortly after being deployed to Iraq, they learn their assignment: guarding Saddam Hussein in the months before his execution. Living alongside, and caring for, their “high value detainee and regularly transporting him to his raucous trial, many of the men begin questioning some of their most basic assumptions—about the judicial process, Saddam’s character, and the morality of modern war. Although the young soldiers’ increasingly intimate conversations with the once-feared dictator never lead them to doubt his responsibility for unspeakable crimes, the men do discover surprising new layers to his psyche that run counter to the media’s portrayal of him. Woven from firsthand accounts provided by many of the American guards, government officials, interrogators, scholars, spies, lawyers, family members, and victims, The Prisoner in His Palace shows two Saddams coexisting in one person: the defiant tyrant who uses torture and murder as tools, and a shrewd but contemplative prisoner who exhibits surprising affection, dignity, and courage in the face of looming death. In this thought-provoking narrative, Saddam, known as the “man without a conscience,” gets many of those around him to examine theirs. “A singular study exhibiting both military duty and human compassion” (Kirkus Reviews), The Prisoner in His Palace grants us “a behind-the-scenes look at history that’s nearly impossible to put down…a mesmerizing glimpse into the final moments of a brutal tyrant’s life” (BookPage).