Imperial Life in the Emerald City

By: Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

In this unprecedented account, The Washington Post's former Baghdad bureau chief, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, takes us into the Green Zone, headquarters for the American occupation in Iraq. In this bubble separated from wartime realities, the task of reconstructing a devastated nation competes with the distractions of a Little America: a half-dozen bars, a disco, a shopping mall - much of it run by Halliburton.

While qualified Americans willing to serve in Iraq are screened for their views on Roe v. Wade, the country is put into the hands of inexperienced 20-somethings chosen for their Republican Party loyalty. Ignoring what Iraqis say they want or need, the team pursues irrelevant neoconservative solutions and pie-in-the-sky policies instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity. Their almost comic initiatives anger the locals and fuel the insurgency.

©2006 Rajiv Chandrasekaran (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

• A National Book Award Finalist

"A devastating indictment of the post-invasion failures of the Bush administration." (Booklist)
"An eye-opening tour of ineptitude, misdirection, and the perils of democracy-building." (Newsday)
"With acuity and a fine sense of the absurd, the author peels back the roof to reveal an ant heap of arrogance, ineptitude, and hayseed provincialism." (Boston Globe)
"As chilling an indictment of America's tragic cultural myopia as Graham Greene's prescient 1955 novel of the American debacle in Indochina, The Quiet American." (New York Times)

Excellent

Gives some wonderful crystal clear understanding of what went wrong so quickly with US efforts in Iraq after the overthrow of Hussein. You have direct quotation from Bremer and many others on the ground in the first days of the occupation, so this isn't a partison attack piece. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone with a curiosity as to why things went so poorly in the US efforts and for anyone interested in getting a flavor for what Iraq was really like in the opening days of the occupation.

A powerful and engaging listen

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone is the compelling story about the U.S. occupation in Iraq and the culture of inexperience, arrogance, and cronyism within the U.S. Green Zone. My previous impression of the Iraq war was that U.S. officials were well-meaning but sometimes misguided and the U.S. media portrayed a sugar-coated view rather than the reality of life on the ground. Listening to this audiobook, I felt shocked by just how much worse the situation had been than I'd previously realized. I found Imperial Life in the Emerald City so enlightening and informative that I didn't want to take a break from listening.

Ray Porter's narration more than does justice to Rajiv Chandrasekaran's story. This audiobook felt like listening to a fascinating novel rather than a nonfiction account by a newspaper journalist... the story and narration are powerful and engaging. I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants to better understand the "story behind the story" of the U.S. in 2003-2004 Iraq.

Great audiobook!

Any additional comments?

I saw the movie first, The Green Zone, and decided to follow up with the source material. Glad I did. Years have passed since the events of this narrative, but it only serves to remind me how hopelessly skewed the whole endeavor was from the outset--and why it didn't have to be. It's tragic.

Addition educational perspective on complex topic

Easy listening & enjoyable no matter what your viewpoint.
Added more perspective to a subject that gets a lot of spin.
Worth the listen.

Not worth my time, but maybe you?

Would you try another book from Rajiv Chandrasekaran and/or Ray Porter?

Nah probably not. Just not my interests, never saw the movie, maybe it's good, either way I couldn't even finish the book.

What was most disappointing about Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s story?

Really hared to follow with soooo many characters and never quite sure who it is that is telling the story.

Which character – as performed by Ray Porter – was your favorite?

none

Could you see Imperial Life in the Emerald City being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Don't really care who

Any additional comments?

Can I get my credit back for this one? Blahhh boring!

U S A ! U S A !

wow we really messed up that country.
the Bobs really have their work cut out for them don't they

Too Judgemental

I am not so sure this is the best book on Iraq. There have been some really good ones written. This one is perhaps one of the more damning. Too much is written with only the Iraqis and non-American perspective addressed. Ultimately this book misses a huge point...perspective. A foreign force of 130,000 is occuppying a country of nearly 27,000,000. There are vast cultural differences. In the historical perspective, the US military is doing an exceptional job...though the US administration is questionable. The attacks on the personnel on the ground and people in unifrom was a little too much. This is not a movie and it is not a video game. This is not occurring on a controlled set. This volume fails because it tries to make a case for a Hollywood style story, but the characters do not stick to the script.

A book in need of a trilogy

covers many of the well known shortcomings of the CPA but doesn't cover the surge or post u.s. involvement in Iraq

Too boring to endure...

What would have made Imperial Life in the Emerald City better?

I listened to about 1 hour and had to change to something else.

Has Imperial Life in the Emerald City turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. I have listened to other spy novels and still love the genre.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Ray Porter?

Narrator was OK. Storyline was... just... a... snoozefest.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Imperial Life in the Emerald City?

I didn't get through enough of the book to comment.

Any additional comments?

No

Ray Porter is a great Narrator

I could listen to Ray Porter read the phone book and be content. And, it is a good thing because this book is just about as exciting.

See that dude on the cover who looks like Jason Bourne - he is not in the book. The cover is a total lie - don't be fooled. This book is nothing like the movie of the same name.

As a moderately intelligent individual I was able to find some interest in the culture clash and humour in the blind stupidity created by the egomania of the era. There just wasn't enough to really enjoy the book.

Did I mention Ray Porter (he sounds like Tom Hanks) is a great narrator? You should find another one of his books..