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War Narratives, United States History - 20th Century - Wars & Conflict, Middle Eastern Conflicts, Iraqi Politics
Martyrs' Day: Chronicle of a Small War by Michael Kelly β€” book cover

Martyrs' Day: Chronicle of a Small War

by Michael Kelly
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Overview

From the lethal fireworks that lit the sky over Baghdad on the war's first night to the elation with which Kuwait's citizens greeted their liberators-and the horror with which they counted their dead-Michael Kelly managed to be present at every critical moment of the Gulf War. He also managed to see it with a sharpness and candor that escaped most other observers. In this award-winning book, Kelly re-creates the Gulf War as tragedy, black comedy, and grand guignol, writing with daring, passion, and razor-edged observation.

Synopsis

From the lethal fireworks that lit the sky over Baghdad on the war's first night to the elation with which Kuwait's citizens greeted their liberators-and the horror with which they counted their dead-Michael Kelly managed to be present at every critical moment of the Gulf War. He also managed to see it with a sharpness and candor that escaped most other observers. In this award-winning book, Kelly re-creates the Gulf War as tragedy, black comedy, and grand guignol, writing with daring, passion, and razor-edged observation.

Library Journal

This eyewitness account differs from the many other books on the Persian Gulf War in that it deals primarily with human-interest elements rather than military matters. Kelly, a journalist who traveled extensively in the countries that were affected by the Gulf conflict, chronicles the vagaries of the war and its impact on the lives of the people in a revealing and disturbing text. The narrative line is lively and easy to follow. Readers may want to compare this book with Ramsey Clark's The Fire This Time ( LJ 12/92) for a contrasting perspective; Kelly's book is less critical of U.S. policy. Recommended for general readers and public libraries.-- Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, Ala.

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Editorials

Library Journal

This eyewitness account differs from the many other books on the Persian Gulf War in that it deals primarily with human-interest elements rather than military matters. Kelly, a journalist who traveled extensively in the countries that were affected by the Gulf conflict, chronicles the vagaries of the war and its impact on the lives of the people in a revealing and disturbing text. The narrative line is lively and easy to follow. Readers may want to compare this book with Ramsey Clark's The Fire This Time ( LJ 12/92) for a contrasting perspective; Kelly's book is less critical of U.S. policy. Recommended for general readers and public libraries.-- Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, Ala.

Kirkus Reviews

A journalist's haunting, beautifully written record of the eventful time he spent in the Middle East before, during, and after the Gulf War. Kelly (now a New York Times correspondent) was in Baghdad on assignment for The Boston Globe and The New Republic before hostilities commenced. After witnessing the US-led coalition's first air strikes against the city, he moved on via Jordan to Israel in time for the Scud blitz of Tel Aviv. Having left the Jewish state through Egypt, Kelly made his way to Saudi Arabia, from where he followed allied ground forces into Kuwait. On the ruined road to the oil-rich sheikdom, liberated after a seven-month occupation, Kelly and his traveling companion became atypically involved spectators, reluctantly accepting the surrender of a battle-weary band of Iraqi soldiers (whom they turned over to rear- echelon Saudis). In the wake of the 100-hour walkover, the author trekked through the ravaged mountains of Kurdistan, eventually returning to Baghdad. Kelly has a sharp eye for telling detail and a gift for felicitous phrasing, as he writes, for example, of traffic whirling dervishly on the streets of Baghdad in the waning days of 1990 when Iraqis honored their war dead and tried to convince themselves another conflict would not come. His vivid reports on casualties along the only escape route from Kuwait City, on refugee camps in Iran, profiteering among the vanquished Iraqis, and other of combat's hellish consequences are not, however, for the squeamish. While Kelly offers almost no commentary, his perceptive observations on the human costs and moral ambiguities of war speak for themselves. As compelling and revelatory an account of the Gulf War as has yetbeen published.

Book Details

Published
December 1, 2001
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Pages
384
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781400030361

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