1001 Nights in Iraq: The Shocking Story of an American Forced to Fight for Saddam Against the Country He Loves

New
Illustrated
2007
$20.47

Shant Kenderian was a schoolboy in Baghdad, growing up in the Armenian Christian community there. His parents divorced, and in 1978, at age 14, he chose to emigrate to America with his mother and brother. Just before his 17th birthday, he returned to visit his father in Baghdad, arriving on Sept. 14, 1980. One week later, Iraq invaded Iran, the borders were closed and Shant was trapped. His father died soon after in a car accident and he would not see America again for more than 10 years.

Shant continued his education and earned a degree in Engineering. Upon graduating he was forced to join the military where he served until the end of the war. While he reapplied to the US Embassy to have his Green Card status renewed, war broke out again. Desert Storm had begun and Shant was conscripted into Saddam's navy. After being dropped on the front lines without a weapon, his ship was commanded to sail through a body of water littered with mines that they had been ordered to drop earlier that day. When his ship inevitably blew up, he miraculously lived to then survive an American air raid. Shant's situation was so absurdly precarious that his only hope was to be captured by American troops. He waved a white cloth in the air and became an American POW. So begins 1001 Nights In Iraq....

Synopsis

Shant Kenderian was a schoolboy in Baghdad, growing up in the Armenian Christian community there. His parents divorced, and in 1978, at age 14, he chose to emigrate to America with his mother and brother. Just before his 17th birthday, he returned to visit his father in Baghdad, arriving on Sept. 14, 1980. One week later, Iraq invaded Iran, the borders were closed and Shant was trapped. His father died soon after in a car accident and he would not see America again for more than 10 years.

Shant continued his education and earned a degree in Engineering. Upon graduating he was forced to join the military where he served until the end of the war. While he reapplied to the US Embassy to have his Green Card status renewed, war broke out again. Desert Storm had begun and Shant was conscripted into Saddam's navy. After being dropped on the front lines without a weapon, his ship was commanded to sail through a body of water littered with mines that they had been ordered to drop earlier that day. When his ship inevitably blew up, he miraculously lived to then survive an American air raid. Shant's situation was so absurdly precarious that his only hope was to be captured by American troops. He waved a white cloth in the air and became an American POW. So begins 1001 Nights In Iraq....

$20.47

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 312
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 01 Jun 2007
ISBN 10: 1416540199
ISBN 13: 9781416540199

Media Reviews

Only a man of great courage and resilience could have survived such a harrowing ordeal. And only a storyteller of extraordinary talent could have related it with such humanity, grace, and humor. -- Andrew Carroll, New York Times bestselling editor of War Letters and Behind the Lines
Shant Kenderian takes us on an emotional journey that is both tormented and complex and, in the process, establishes an important context through which we can view today's Iraqi conflicts. What a ride! -- Liz Balmaseda, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
If it were only a war story it would be riveting. If it were only a love story it would be profoundly moving. And if it were only the story of a man never losing hope in the face of bureaucracy, bigotry and bad luck -- it would be an inspiration. But, it is all of those things and a good deal more. Shant Kenderian has returned to us from hell with a message of hope. -- Scott Z. Burns, producer of An Inconvenient Truth
We put Shant on our show because his story was human scale, in a way a lot of the daily news from Iraq can't be.
--Ira Glass, host and producer of public radio's and Showtime's This American Life
Kenderian writes matter-of-factly, with the stoicism of someone who has endured the seemingly unendurable. But his story is mind-blowing enough to keep you turning the pages. -- Entertainment Weekly

Author Bio

Shant Kenderian immigrated to the United States at the age of fifteen with his mother. He has earned several degrees, including a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He currently works for The Aerospace Corporation in the Los Angeles area, where he lives with his wife and three children.