The Sutras of Abu Ghraib

Written by Chelle

Welcome to the first of many book reviews we plan to bring you on Between the Lines. More information on how you can help us will be at the end of the review.

The Sutras of Abu Ghraib was brought to my attention by its author, Aidan Delgado, an Iraq war veteran who has since been discharged as a conscientious objector to the war, based on his Buddhist beliefs. The book primarily tells his story of his year in Iraq. He focuses on how he came to decide to file for conscientious objector status, and the reaction of the rest of the men in his unit, as well as how he came to become a protester of the war when arriving back home.

This is not a book I would have ordinarily read, as I'm not particularly a fan of very political issues. However, I am very glad that this book was brought to my attention. It is a biography, and reads easily. You can easily get sucked into the life of Mr. Delgado and are continually asking questions about how he became the way he did. Some of the horrors he describe certainly make you question the mindset of our soldiers (even I did, and I grew up in a military family), and even our nation as a whole. His writing makes the war seem real, and you can almost feel the emotions he feels as he recounts his experiences.

Mr. Delgado brings in experiences in his past to help explain more of his character throughout the novel, and the picture of the son of an American diplomat is almost stranger than fiction, and keeps the mind racing from the start. I'd highly recommend the book to anyone that wants of view of Iraq from the inside, as well as anyone that just wants to explore another human psyche. It will certainly leave you with a new look on life, whether you agree with him in the end or not.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars.

You can find The Sutras of Abu Ghraib: Notes from a Conscientious Objector in Iraq, by Aidan Delgado, in bookstores now. It was published by Beacon Press in 2007.


If you have any questions for Mr. Delgado, please e-mail them to betweenthelines[at]progressiveu.org, with the subject line 'Delgado'. An interview with the author will be posted in the coming weeks.

If you are interested in writing a review yourself, also e-mail us at the above address, with the subject line 'Book', to find out more on how you can. Please, do not send me an already written review, because I will probably not post it. Alternatively, you can PM mvenus929 for more information.