I began my year in Baghdad's Red Zone wrapped in a flak jacket, Kevlar under-shorts, and hope that I could create a small beachhead for economic sanity in an ocean of madness. With a raised eyebrow, I arrived more curious than fearful. Over time, I increasingly came to understand that I had deluded myself. I ended my work with eyes downcast. I was angry, cynical, and frustrated. Though I went to Iraq with gifts I never got to give, I received gifts I did not expect. I had fun and made friends. I observed that people often worked sincerely and hard and for good reasons, but that meaning well and doing well, are, well, two different things. Baghdad was a crucible that fused work and hope. In this book, I observe the oddities and ironies of daily life on the ground in Iraq with humor, perspective, and originality.
"Shaku maku" is slang for "wassup," "Howdy pard," and "how's it hanging." Say shaku maku in a cab in Amman or Damascus and the driver immediately tenses.
About Philip Borden
Philip Borden went to Iraq to support State Department efforts to develop small businesses as a key to economic recovery. This effort drew upon 30 year of experience as a professor, serial entrepreneur, and small business development expert. Borden has published on technology, management, economic development, and history in refereed and popular journals, testified before the and U.S. House of Representatives and California Legislature, and lectured in the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, and Iraq.
I began my year in Baghdad's Red Zone wrapped in a flak jacket, Kevlar under-shorts, and hope that I could create a small beachhead for economic sanity in an ocean of madness. With a raised eyebrow, I arrived more curious than fearful. Over time, I increasingly came to understand that I had deluded myself. I ended my work with eyes downcast. I was angry, cynical, and frustrated. Though I went to Iraq with gifts I never got to give, I received gifts I did not expect. I had fun and made friends. I observed that people often worked sincerely and hard and for good reasons, but that meaning well and doing well, are, well, two different things. Baghdad was a crucible that fused work and hope. In this book, I observe the oddities and ironies of daily life on the ground in Iraq with humor, perspective, and originality.
Philip Borden went to Iraq to support State Department efforts to develop small businesses as a key to economic recovery. This effort drew upon 30 year of experience as a professor, serial entrepreneur, and small business development expert. Borden has published on technology, management, economic development, and history in refereed and popular journals, testified before the and U.S. House of Representatives and California Legislature, and lectured in the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, and Iraq.