Written before Operation Iraqi Freedom, Mackey explores this history of Iraqi and Iraqi nationhood, arguing against a US invasion of Iraq.

Reprint. Originally published: 2002.

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- The land between two rivers -- The human mosaic of Iraq -- The improbable country -- Three kings: monarchical Iraq -- Identity in a decade of disorder -- The triumph of the Baath -- The war of identity -- Aggression and rebellion -- Broken Babylon -- America between the two rivers -- The war of containment -- The road to Baghdad -- Afterword -- Selected bibliograpay -- Index