Wow! eBook
Road Through Kurdistan: Travels in Northern Iraq
Author(s): A. M. Hamilton (Author), David McDowall (Introduction)
- Publisher: Barbara Ward & Associates
- Publication Date: 26 Nov. 2004
- Language: English
- Print length: 360 pages
- ISBN-10: 1850436371
- ISBN-13: 9781850436379
Book Description
In 1928, A.M. Hamilton travelled to Iraqi Kurdistan, having been commissioned to build a road that would stretch from Northern Iraq, through the mountains and gorges of Kurdistan and on to the Iranian border. Now called the Hamilton Road, this was, even by today’s standards, a considerable feat of engineering and remains one of the most strategically important roads in the region. In this colourful and engaging account, Hamilton describes the four years he spent overcoming immense obstacles – disease, ferocious brigands, warring tribes and bureaucratic officials – to carve a path through some of the most beautiful but inhospitable landscape in the world. Road Through Kurdistan is an enthralling story, packed with adventure, of one man’s determination in the face of adversity: a classic of travel writing. It is also an invaluable portrayal of the Iraqi Kurds themselves, and of the Kurdish regions of Northern Iraq.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Independent on Sunday (4 stars out of 5): “It’s full of derring-do, dynamite and splendid fellows smoking pipes.”; Global Magazine: “a classic piece of travel writing by a man who is immersed in his surroundings…also serves as a poignant hstorical note about the Kurdish people and their region within northern Iraq”
About the Author
Archibald Milne Hamilton was born in 1898 in New Zealand. An early interest in all things scientific would endure throughout his life. After having graduated from university with a Bachelor of Engineering, Hamilton worked on several projects in New Zealand and in 1926 joined the British Admiralty team involved in designing the new Singapore Naval Base. In 1927 he became engineer in charge of Diwaniyeh in Iraq and later transferred to Kurdistan, where he would spend the next four years of his life. He died, aged 74, in 1972.
