A Lens Through Saddam Hussein Books

By Ines Flores


Saddam Hussein is an Iraqi leader born in 1937 who became president in 1979. He is remembered for strengthening the oil industry in Iraq as well as its military. To maintain power, he often used brutal measures that eventually cost him his life at the hands of Iraqi government. In 2006, he was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity that he was executed for in Dec 2006. What most people do not know about him is that he was an author of several Saddam Hussein books.

In the list of books written by Saddam include four novels and a few poems. The novels include Men and City, Begone, Demons, Zabibah and the King and also The Fortified Castle. They were anonymously published using the pen name of the author. Some of these materials became part of the curriculum for schools in Iraq. Others became best sellers after his death.

Zabibah and the King is a romance novel written by Saddam Hussein and published anonymously in 2000. The characters include Arab, the protagonist, Zabibah, Zabibahs husband, Hezkel, Shamil and Nuri Chalabi. Although the novel has a romantic theme, it is intended to be as an allegory with the protagonist being Hussein. Zabibah is a poor woman unhappily married who the Arab seems to like. She represents the people of Iraq.

The relationship between Zabibah and her husband is unloving and cruel. At one point he rapes her, which is believed to represent Iraqs invasion. As a result, the husband is an allegory to the United States. Hezkel, Nuri and Shemel represent other perceived enemies of Iraq such as Israel, Jews and merchants. The novel sold over a million copies and proceeds donated to charity.

Men and the City is the third book authored by Hussein. It was published in 2002 and its style is a little bit different from the styles of the rest of these books. Men and the City is more of an autobiography telling the story of rulers grandfather against the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. It is believed that the story was ghostwritten but others claim that there is evidence to disprove this.

Husseins third novel is the Fortified Castle that is also a display of political metaphor and allegory. The fortified castle is a representation of Iraq with its many struggles for power. The novel was published in 2001 and is the story of a delayed wedding ceremony between Sabah and a Kurdish girl. Sabah is seen as the protagonist and is a war hero from the Iraq-Iran war.

Begone, Demons is Saddams fourth and last novel. It loosely translates to Get out of here, Curse You! It was written before the Iraq war in 2003 and published in 2006 in Tokyo by a Japanese publisher. Although fictional, it is believed to be a political metaphor. Published in Japanese and later translated into Turkish language. No other translation is available.

The four books written by Saddam Hussein are very significant to him, his era and Iraq. They were all authored at a time when his political career had begun to die. Also, it represents a troubling period for him and Iraq citizens. Lastly, they are a demonstration of hope, strength and a bit of ignorance for a person who considered himself a hero.




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