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Reviews of Kurdistan: Region Under Siege
From Bayan Rahman, Kurd and former journalist
Elected Kurdish Regional Government High Representative to the UK in 2009
Most books look at the Kurdish struggle in each country as if it's totally independent of the Kurds in the other regions. This book tackles the Kurdish issue in a chronological order, covering all the countries involved simultaneously, so it becomes clear that the Kurdish issue stretches across borders. Many Kurds have relatives in all parts of Kurdistan (me, for instance), so what happens in any one area affects us all.
Bodnarchuk's book contains useful sidebars with stand-alone stories and fact-files. She also gives very fair, accurate coverage, and even deals with incidents that hardly received any press. For instance, a few years ago, the KDP called on Saddam Hussein to help to drive out the PUK and Iranian forces. So many reports by so-called media giants (e.g. the top newspapers, CNN, BBC) gave a totally biased or incomplete explanation for why the KDP would do something so drastic.
Few, if any, ever bothered to mention the crucial fact that the Iranians were involved and that the KDP feared Kurdistan would end up like Lebanon, a region in which foreign powers (Iran, Iraq, Turkey and possibly Syria) would use the Kurds to fight by proxy. Bodnarchuk explains all sides of this issue, in a very unbiased and thorough way.
– Fall, 2000.
From Bay Views (CA)
The World in Conflict series has the ambitious goal of providing understanding as a first step to solving conflicts. Bodnarchuk details the struggle of the Kurds over the centuries to preserve their culture and to achieve an independent homeland. Since Kurdistan is a region crossing the borders of four countries, and since Kurds in each of these nations have differing experiences, their story is a complicated one.
The author... provides a thorough, balanced view, delivered without emotionalism. For the serious student who will use the suggestions in the epilogue to learn about the most recent events, this book provides and excellent background on a complex issue. Illustrated with maps and photographs that bring reality to the results of the armed conflict. Good chronology, brief bibliography, detailed index.
– Nancy Eager, Independent, January 2001.
From Lafayette, TX
Kurdistan is part of a twelve-volume series about various regions in the conflict around the world. The author is to be commended for the tedious work required to take mounds of contemporary information that is changing hourly and turn it into easy-to-use reading material.
The book has an introduction and five chapters. The introduction talks about the geography of the region, the social structure and population, and the groups involved in the struggle, particularly the Kurdish. The chapters cover the recent violence in and around Kurdistan (not a country, but a region), as well as the conflict's roots, entrenched positions, present conflict, and, importantly, what is being done to solve the problem.
Most elementary students will find this above their reading level, but there may be students doing research who will want to look through this book, which would give good background for a daily news study. Its advantage is that the segments are very easy to go through and pick out small bits of information from the keynote persons or events that are highlighted in bright gold and appear often in the book. There are also many photographs and maps. This book is perfect for any library with young readers or people who want a book not of a scholarly level.
– Marge Wood, March 2001.
Pennsylvania School Librarians Association
Young Adult Top Forty list 2000
This is part of the World in Conflict series and is an excellent addition to school libraries. The series attempts to approach each conflict by tracing the complex problems that have created the crises. This book traces the current conflict in Kurdistan back through the history of the area, in order to give the researcher a clearer idea of why the conflict developed. The roots of the conflict are discussed, the present issues are noted, and the potential solutions are described. Social studies students will find this resource a valuable tool for class projects.
– Peg Kleppinger, 2000.
From School Library Journal, Grade 8 Up
This excellent series entry provides a brief background to the geography, peoples, and cultures of the region, then gives an overview of the ethnic conflict that has ensued and its major players. This introduction is followed by an in-depth, informative text covering the historical roots of the Kurds' struggle, and the situation as it is today.
Bodnarchuk looks at the effect the continuing fighting has upon the nations most involved: Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. The presentation of the positions held by different governments, as well as the opposing Kurdish factions, is valuable. The final chapter discusses actions that have been and are being taken to find a solution to the conflict... [T]his is a clear, balanced, chronological history
– Carol Johnson Shedd, National Outreach Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge. MA. Copyright 2000. Reed Business Information, Inc.
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