I picked this book up in a used book shop in 1986. I had studied Arabic but knew little about the region, so this served as an entree for me, and a useful one, at that. Because the setting is rural Iraq of the 1960's (or was it 50's?), we get to see society from this part of the world at its real core. There is no need to peel off the veneer of the more modern society to try to devine what lies beneath - there is no veneer. I found it useful not only in understanding what is different about society in this part of the Middle East, but also in understanding what is at least common to my own society, if not universal to us all. As a snapshot in time, it is also a great window into a world we won't see again. I recommend this in the same way that I recommend Memories of Silk and Straw for a look at pre-war rural Japan. You can see how much the societies have changed and - perhaps - fathom how much of a jar that change has proven.
