Review: The Devil's Double

Title: Devil’s Double
Author: Latif Yahia
Publisher: Arrow Books
ISBN: 0099465558

We’ve all read and heard stories about the brutality and excesses of Saddam Hussein and his regime. His eldest son, Uday , in particular had the reputation for being as bad as, if not worse than his father.

The author, Latif Yahia was the son of a well-to-do Baghdad businessman who attended school with Uday Hussein. They were born within days of each other and bore a strong resemblance to one another. In 1987 while Yahia was serving in the army he was plucked from the front line and taken to meet Uday Hussein where he was told he was being afforded a great honour; an honour he couldn’t refuse. He was to become Uday’s “fiday”, his serf and double. Yahia underwent painful plastic and dental surgery and spent months being forced to copy and perfect Uday’sspeech patterns and every gesture.

THE DEVIL’SDOUBLE bears witness to some of the things that went on inside the heavily guarded compound in which Saddam and his family spent much of their time.

Uday was taken to see his first execution at the age of six and watched people being tortured at age ten. His unrestrained appetite for sex and violence appears to have been the inevitable consequence of a life led without any boundaries or consequences whatsoever. Is it any wonder he became such a monster?

It’s a little difficult to know what to make of Latif Yahia and his story. He claims to have witnessed some dreadfu latrocities, which appear to have been a part of every day life for the Hussein clan, and much of the book is devoted toYahia registering his disgust at the things he saw. However, there does appear to be a great deal of self-justification going on. Yahia describes the invasion of Kuwait and how the Husseins used that invasion to loot as much as they could. He tells of Uday assembling three teams of twenty men each assigned to ransack the country. One team was responsible for “requisitioning”as many up-market European cars as they could, another electrical goods and athird was to take over villas and large houses for use of the new “government”in Kuwait. This little enterprise garnered Uday $125 million from the sale of cars alone. Yahia condemns this , but at the same time admits to having taken some cars himself to line his own pockets.

The book itself is not particularly well written. At times there seems to be a slight overuse of adjectives that don’t always fit. I felt it could have benefited from tighter editing. However, that weakness is over-ridden by the stories Yahia has to tell. Some of them almost defy belief.

If Uday saw something he wanted he’d just take it. Everything from cars to women. There is one horrifying story about him seeing a pair of newly weds and deciding he wanted the wife. The husband, an officer in the Iraqi army who had served for ten years was on leave from the front. They had been married just one day. The husband was restrained and beaten, the wife dragged screaming to Uday’s hotel room. When she resisted his advances he beat her until she was bleeding badly and then raped her. He left the room and the woman feeling too shamed to live, committed suicide by jumping from the sixth floor window. The husband, beside himself with grief tried to attack Uday in the hotel foyer. He was arrested, charged with “insulting the president”and executed a few days later. Just another day in the life of Uday Hussein.

Uday owned hundreds of cars and thousands of suits. He even banned the importation of Ferraris into Iraq so that he would bethe only person to own them. Such wasthe power of the Husseins in Iraq that not even witnesses held back Uday. At a party one day his father’sofficial food taster incurred his wrath so he killed him with an electricknife, in front of tall the guests, including wife of the President of Egypt.

Yahir escaped the country to tell his tale.To be honest, this particular yarn seems a little too far-fetched nto be plausible. It did damage his Yahia's credibility somewhat for me. Just how much of it is completely true is perhaps open for debate but there is no doubt that THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE is jaw-dropping at times.

THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE has been recently made into a movie, starring Dominic Cooper as both Uday and Latif Yahir and Philip Quast as Saddam.

Links: The DevilsDouble – book

Devil’s Double movie website

Further reading:

Latif Yahia: Fiday or Fantasist?http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2011/aug/13/devils-double-tangled-tale

Review: THE DARK SIDE - Roger Rogerson

Roger Rogerson is probably one of Australia's best known and notorious police officers. Presented with a medal for his services to the police force in 1980, just a few short years later he found himself facing charges of corruption and attempted murder which despite acquittal, ended his career in the police force.

THE DARK SIDE is Rogerson's own version of events. Not surprisingly it doesn't dwell on the events that made him a house-hold name. He focuses more on cases he worked on over his long career in the police force.

Reading the autobiography of someone who has become notorious for whatever reason is always a little difficult; especially if there has been past misdeeds or alleged crimes. Just how much of the truth are you really getting? After all you're only getting their side of the story and there's nothing in the way of critical analysis of that story.

I doubt that Rogerson was telling "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." There is little or no mention about the events that made him so notorious although his accounts of cases he worked on are interesting enough. You get the picture of what would be called an old time traditional detective who isn't averse to bending the rules to achieve and outcome. Just how far those rules were bent is left to the individual to decide.

Top Gear and Richard Hammond

If you are any sort of Petrol-head and even if you aren't chances are you have encountered the juggernaut that it BBC tvs TOP GEAR in some form or other. The show, the books, the merchandise; they're everywhere.

I have to admit I'm a huge fan of the show. It's not about the cars; it's about the British knack for taking diverse personalities and creating some sort of special magic that can entertain millions.

That's why I love Top Gear. Clarkson, May and Hammond, when let off the leash are hysterically funny. They are allowed to fully indulge their schoolboy sense of humour and are probably laughing all the way to the bank. All of them have had books published.

Everyone who watches the show will have their favourite. Mine is Richard Hammond. His boyish good looks and his self-deprecating sense of humour are somehow endearing. So when I hit a reading slump just before Christmas I decided I needed something light and entertaining to get over it. Richard Hammond's books were the perfect antidote.

ON THE EDGE by Richard Hammond tells the story of the now famous crash which nearly killed him and resulted in him suffering brain damage. It's told from the point of view of both Hammond (his memories up to the crash) and his wife (afterwards and his rehabilitation)

Then there's OR IT IS JUST ME? A collection of ancedotes about the antics, expeditions and races Hammond has experienced on Top Gear.

AS YOU DO tells the story of the Top Gear Race to the North Pole from Hammond's perspective. While Clarkson and May were in a custom built car, Hammond was trotting along behind a dog sled. You have to be fit and highly motivated to accomplish that.

Also in the book is Hammond's account of their race across Bostwana and his meeting of his childhood idol, Evel Kneivel.

So while, no one by any stretch of the imagination could call Hammond's writing literature it is entertaining and pulled me out of my reading slump.

So thank you Richard Hammond.

Review: DARK MIRROR - Barry Maitland

Marion Summers, a university student dies one day in a library. When an autopsy reveals she died from arsenic poisoning DI Kathy Kolla and DCI David Brock are called in.

Marion's life is a mystery. No one seems to know her well at all. She has moved from her last known address and none of the people the detectives talk to seem to know where she went.

Marion was doing research into the lives of the pre-Raphaelites in which arsenic figured quite heavily. Before they can find out who murdered Marion, Brock and Kolla have to first find out about the woman herself, which proves no easy task.

DARK MIRROR is a first rate police procedural. The author plays fair with the reader. The clues are all there, it's up to you to sort out which are red herrings and which are genuine. He also strikes a nice balanace between the private lives of the characters and their work.

A good police procedural is one of my favourite types of books. If it's done properly it keeps you reading compulsively to find out if your theory is correct. I did manage to figure it out in the end, but not before I ran trough a number of suspects and changed my mind several times.

If police procedurals are you thing then DARK MIRROR is one you should have on your bookshelf.

DARK MIRROR is the tenth book in the Brock and Kolla series.

Review: COLD JUSTICE - Katherine Howell

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: February, 2010
ISBN: 9781405039277
Format: Trade paperback
336 Pages
RRP $25.00 (Aus)

When Georgie Riley was a teenager she stumbled upon the body of seventeen-year-old Tim Pieterson who had been murdered. Georgie is now a paramedic and finds herself teamed up with an old school friend. Freya was Georgie’s best friend who departed with her family without a word after Tim’s death. Why did Freya leave town so abruptly? What is she hiding?

Nineteen years later, the case is still open. Tim’s younger cousin, Callum is now a politician and has agitated to have the case reviewed. Detective Ella Marconi is returning to work after recovering from injuries. It is decided that the best way to ease her back into the job is to assign her to the Unsolved Cases Unit. In his welcoming speech her boss tells her “the past haunts the present” and in this case it proves to be true. Ella’s investigation opens up old wounds for the family and puts pressure on her relationship with Wayne who seems to want to dictate how and when Ella works. Wayne is also becoming way too cosy with Ella’s family for comfort.

“Write what you know” aspiring writers are often told. Katherine Howell has done that to good effect. She worked as a paramedic for many years and her detailed knowledge of both the job and the physical and emotional toll it takes are vividly portrayed.

COLD JUSTICE is Katherine’s third book (the previous two are Frantic and The Darkest Hour) and her writing seems to get better and better . COLD JUSTICE not only has the fast pace of a thriller, it also has multiple threads which are gradually pulled together. Katherine is also a dab hand at knowing exactly when to change threads in the plot to leave the reader in suspense.

I was lucky to receive a copy of the book in advance of its publication. COLD JUSTICE is due in book shops on 1^st February 2010. I recommend you be in line on that date to get a copy. You won’t regret it.