Memoir Middle East

Here's a remarkable, true story of love and war, of journalist Micah Garenheld hostage in Iraq, and the determined young woman, Marie-Helene Carleton, who fought and won his release.

Born in 1949 to a prosperous family in Tehran, Abbas Milani grew up in an Iran of culture and tradition. He was sent to the United States for his studies, and it was there that he made his transition to adulthood, becoming active intellectually, sexually, and politically. Flush with 1960s idealism, he returned home in 1975, only to find his country utterly changed.

For soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division, the road to Baghdad began with a midnight flight out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in late February 2003. For Rick Atkinson, who would spend nearly two months covering the division for The Washington Post, the war in Iraq provided a unique opportunity to observe today's U.S. Army in combat.

At the behest of his teacher and some of the rulers of Saudi Arabia, al-Shaykh 'Abd Allah al-Qar'awi penned the story of his life and work. His memoirs, which were originally published in al-Manhal magazine, cover his family lineage, his birth, his upbringing, his education, his travels, his travails, and his tireless efforts to spread tawhid and uproot shirk and heresies in Southern Saudi Arabia and Northern Yemen. This work is a testimony to Shaykh al-Qar'awi's patience, resolve, and adherence to the methodology of the Prophets and Messengers.