We have a plethora of material on Iraq at five books.  There are a couple of general interviews dedicated to the country.  Colin Freeman offers his best books on Iraq, and the civil rights campaigner, Kanan Makiya, recommends his best books on the history of Iraq.

Patrick Cockburn gives his best books on the Iraq war,  and others look at particular aspects of the conflict, its causes and its consequences.  May Witwit chooses the best books on Life in Iraq during the invasion, while Nabeel Yasin looks at democracy in Iraq.  Chris Abbott on global security, Jeremy Greenstock on diplomacy  and Mary Habeck on terrorism all discuss the invasion and its consequences, as does Jason Burke with his best books on Islamic militancy.

Lorraine Adams on the truth behind the headlines and Darius Rejali on violence and torture both touch on some of the more controversial aspects of the lead up to the war in Iraq and the occupation of the country in their  broader discussion of these themes.  Stephen Armstrong on private armies and Hugh Gusterson on drone warfare look at controversial aspects of the actual fighting.

There are numerous interviews that touch on the politics and ideology that led to the decision to go to war.  E J Dionne’s choices on the appeal of conservatism include The neoconservatives: the origins of a movement by Peter Steinfels.    Yosri Fouda includes Against All Enemies by Richard Clarke in his best books on 9/11.  John Gray discusses the Iraq crisis in his best critiques of utopia and apocalypse and Lawrence Kaplan puts the Iraq war in a longer political perspective with his best books on US intervention.  Venkatesh Rao discusses related themes in his best books on how the world works.

Other interviews look at Iraq as the cradle of civilisation.  Diarmaid MacCulloch chooses his best books on the history of Christianity and recommends The Church of the East by Christoph Baumer as essential to understanding the role of Christianity in the Middle East.  Peter Atkins talks about early Mesopotamia in his best books on the emergence of understanding and Amira Bennison talks about the central role played by Baghdad in her best books on science and islam.  Robin Wilson touches on the role of ancient Mesopotamia in his best books on the history of mathematics and  Stephen Cave recommends the ancient Mesopotamian epic, Gilgamesh, in his best books on immortality.