Escape From Baghdad

Between 1927 and 1936, Carl Raswan traveled over a dozen times to Arabia, returning with Arabian horses for breeding in Europe and America. This is a reproduction of one of his accounts of his work and travels.

Gun-for-hire James 'Ash' Ashcroft thought he'd left Iraq behind. Last time he only got out alive thanks to the bravery of his interpreter and friend Sammy. But now a call for help means Ash must once again face the chaos of war-torn Baghdad - and this time there's no pay cheque. Abandoned by the occupying Coalition Forces, Sammy and his family face certain death at the hands of the Shia-dominated Iraqi Police and the death squads that roam the streets unless Ash and his team can get in and get them to safety over the border. This is the action-packed story of their audacious escape from Baghdad. It is a gripping account of the chaos of war, where the only thing that can be relied upon is the bond between former brothers-in-arms.

Welcome to Baghdad during the US invasion. A desperate American military has created a power vacuum that needs to be filled. Religious fanatics, mercenaries, occultists, and soldiers are all vying for power. So how do regular folks try to get by? If you're Dagr and Kinza, a former economics professor and a streetwise hoodlum, you turn to dealing in the black market. But everything is about to change, because they have inherited a very important prisoner: the star torturer of Hussein's recently collapsed regime, Captain Hamid, who promises them untold riches if they smuggle him out of Baghdad. With the heat on and nothing left for them in Baghdad, they enlist the help of Private Hoffman, their partner in crime and a U.S. Marine. In the chaos of a city without rule, getting out of Baghdad is no easy task and when they become embroiled in a mystery surrounding an ancient watch that doesn't tell time, nothing will ever be the same. With a satiric eye firmly cast on the absurdity of human violence, Escape from Baghdad! features shades of Catch-22 and Three Kings while giving voice, ribald humor, and firepower to to people often referred to as "collateral damage."

In this riveting, inspiring memoir, a woman of Bahá'i faith and her children are trapped in Islamic Baghdad, where the Baha'i are despised as much as Christians and Jews. She endures: lies and deception... religious persecution... the cruelty of war... savage beatings... the murder of her husband and one of her sons... and unparalleled sacrifice for her children. She even had the perseverance and audacity to plead for help from the brutal dictator, Saddam Hussein. Farah Molai emerges triumphant, a testament to her faith, her will to survive, and a mother's love and determination to save her children. This true story of heroism will haunt you long after you've finished the book. Read it now!

AWARDS RECEIVED In addition to being selected a finalist in Foreword Magazine, the book also won the "2005 Distinguished Honor Award" from the Military Writers Society of America. The link can be viewed at www.militarywriters.com/awards.htm Introduction Full Circle: Escape from Baghdad and the Return chronicles a prominent Iraqi Jewish familys escape from persecution, through the journey of one family member, a young boy, who witnesses public hangings and the 1941 Krystallnacht (Farhood) in Baghdad. After a dangerous escape from Iraq akin to a Sephardic Schindlers List, this ten-year-old begins a lifelong search for meaning and his place in the world. This journey takes him to the newly-formed nation of Israel, then to Brazil, and eventually to the United States, where he serves in the US Army in Korea, works in top level positions with three Fortune 500 companies, starts several businesses, and volunteers to assist the FBI after September 11, 2001. This chronicle strives to explore questions of meaning such as: Does hardship taint the lure of adventure for any young man? What sustains hope? Does a persecuted Jew ever feel at home anywhere? This young mans journey and subsequent identity crisis interfaces with historical happenings in the world and brings an understanding of the culture and contributions of Sephardic Jews. There has been much written about the Jewish population in Germany and Europe and what they suffered, but little is known about Sephardic Jews who have also been persecuted in other countries, especially in Iraq, a country of which we as Americans have some familiarity, but know very little about. PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Saul Silas Fathi (631) 232-1638 [email protected] Full Circle: Escape From Baghdad and The Return Published Author by Saul Silas Fathi December 5, 2005 (Central Islip, NY) Historical conflicts, persecution and social unrests have always forced people to leave their homeland and move towards uncertainty. And because of these, the search for meaning only becomes more difficult and sometimes impossible. One man however overcame great odds and found meaning at last when he completed his great journey of life, and readers can experience it all by reading author Saul Silas Fathis amazing new book Full Circle: Escape From Baghdad and The Return. Epic in proportion, Full Circle tells the full life journey of the author who witnessed public executions as a young boy and escaped with his Iraqi Jewish family from certain persecution in Iraq during the mid twentieth century. At the age of ten, the author began an ambitious personal journey to find the meaning of life as well as his place in the world. Through the years, he traveled to the newly-formed Israel, to Brazil and eventually to the United States of America and in each country he learned and experienced a lot about life, culture, knowledge and survival. Determined to excel, Saul completed his education, joined the U.S. Army and ultimately he became an American citizen as well as a high-level executive working with Fortune-500 companies. Aside from his struggles and achievements, Sauls book explores the depths of mans search for meaning, which includes his insights about hope, his Sephardic Jewish heritage, the impacts of 9/11 and the Gulf War, identity crisis, and more. Readers will be astonished with the great

At the age of seventeen, Lewis Alsamari was conscripted into Saddam Hussein’s army. The training was brutal, with discipline enforced by regular beatings, and desertion punishable by mutilation or imprisonment. Somehow Lewis made it through and, thanks in part to his fluent English, was soon offered a post in Iraqi military intelligence. The job would have made him powerful, comfortably wealthy . . . and a cog in Saddam Hussein’s massive machine of terror. Unable to accept becoming a member of Saddam’s secret police, yet knowing that turning down this “honor” would be considered treasonous, Lewis made plans to flee Iraq. His escape was fraught with peril–he was shot, detained at borders, even pursued by hungry wolves across the desert–but the teenager made his way to Jordan, then Malaysia, and finally to England, where he was granted political asylum. Lewis began building a life for himself, even falling in love and getting married. But he was haunted by thoughts of the loved ones he left behind in Iraq, his uncle’s words echoing in his ears: we are sending you to freedom so that one day you may rescue us from this place. One day, shocking news arrived: because of his escape, Lewis’s family–including his mother and sister–had been interrogated, beaten, and thrown into prison. Frantic with guilt and worry, Lewis was forced to steal the thousands of dollars he needed to buy their release and smuggle them out of Iraq. Then, accompanied by his wife, he embarked on a desperate journey in hope of bringing his family to freedom. Escape from Saddam is a powerful nonfiction thriller that, even as it plunges the reader into a netherworld of crooked border police, military checkpoints, counterfeiters, and smugglers, provides a fascinating window into a totalitarian regime. It is also a remarkably inspirational story of a resourceful young man who refused to accept his fate . . . and then risked everything he’d achieved to save his family. From the Hardcover edition.

Chronicles a prominent Iraqi Jewish family's escape from persecution, through the journey of one family member, a young boy, who witnesses public hangings and the 1941 Krystallnacht (Farhood) in Baghdad. After a dangerous escape from Iraq akin to a Sephardic Schindler's List, this ten-year-old begins a lifelong search for meaning and his place in the world. This journey takes him to the newly formed nation of Israel, then to Brazil, and eventually to the United States.