Between Two Worlds by Zainab Salbi & Laurie Becklund

Escape from Tyranny: Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam
nonfiction

This a fascinating account of Salbi's childhood and teen years in Iraq. Her family was an unwilling part of Saddam Hussein's inner social circle, which naturally had an enormous influence on them. She tells a gripping tale of Saddam controlled and manipulated all around him. It was no news to me that he was a murdering dictator, but somehow reading a first-hand account really brought it home. We've heard much about his son Uday, the "rapist of Baghdad", but it appears that father was just as evil as son in that regard. This book also describes Iraq (particularly the Iraq of the rich and educated) in detail. It is definitely worth reading.