THE PRINCE OF THE MARSHES

Stewart, a 30-year-old Scot and linguist, was hired to set up the Coalition government in a remote province in southeast Iraq. In his year there he faced greedy sheiks, lack of support from Baghdad, run-ins with the military, bombings, and incompetence but was helped by talented co-workers and his facility with Arabic languages. He has chosen to read his own memoir, and a wise choice it was. Not only is every word clear, but accents are accurate, and the sentences in Arabic flow well. He exhibits great patience with what had to be a frustrating experience and only occasionally lapses into a critical mode. He returned briefly in 2005 to find most of his hard work undone. Listen and be enlightened--but not filled with optimism. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2008]