Dissecting the history of posttraumatic stress disorder and its endemic on American and Iraqi survivors of the war, Garden of Eden or Valley of Death by Duncan C. Richardson is a powerful and distinct autobiography of the windfalls of war and aggressive imperialism. Speaking frankly about a lawless Iraq, he traces the postmodern landscape and provides a stunning portrait of not only a world of greed and stagnation, but also a survivor of war. From being processed at Kuwait Hilton by Kellogg, Brown, and Root to full Iraq deployment, the author shares the story of how the "green zone" got its name and how dangerous it is to travel in Iraq. He shares anecdotes of life on the fringe as a US contractor with the lighter fare of a knife-wielding Egyptian chef and a visit from Christiane Amanpour to harrowing acts of vandalism and murder and the techniques roadside bombers employ. Personal and formidable, these stories will change how you view the world-its history and its future.

Must we not expect that, when deprived of the outside world, we regress temporarily to a primitive animal-like unreasonable state of mind? -Eric Fromm