A Farsi-speaker, journalist, diplomat and adventurer, Roy Stewart (currently a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard), was made deputy governor in the marsh regions of southern Iraq, a surreal, harrowing experience recounted in this eye-opening book. This is the remote region, destroyed by Hussein and controlled by a distinct culture. The culture, centered on the marshes, was celebrated by Wilfred Thesiger ((The Marsh Arabs) and Gavin Maxwell (A Reed Shaken by the Winds).  (IRQ16, $15.00)