Saddam's Word

Reviews / Votes

Bengio provides an insightful look at how yet another dictator uses ... propaganda tools to advantage. * Military Review * [Bengio] has written the most important book on Baathi Iraq since Kanan Makiya's Republic of Fear (published in 1989 under the pseudonym of Samir al-Khalil). Her well-written, easily accessible yet sophisticated analysis of political language makes a major contribution to our understanding of contemporary Iraq. * Middle East Policy * Anyone who doubts the corrupting effects of totalitarianism on political language--if such a person could exist at the end of our century of totalitarianisms--should read this book. Bengio ... has compiled exhaustive evidence from the Iraqi sources to show how the Ba'thist regime in general and Saddam Hussein in particular have debased the political vocabulary of Iraq. * IPolitical Science Quarterly *