"Strangely compelling memoir by a self-described 'man without a country.'.The splendidly preposterous facts overwhelm any infirmities in the telling of this amazing personal history." Kirkus Reviews

"Shant Kenderian takes us on an emotional journey that is both tormented and complex and, in the process, establishes an important context through which we can view today's Iraqi conflicts. What a ride!" Liz Balmaseda, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

Shant Kendarian's visit to Baghdad in 1980 at age seventeen was supposed to be short, just long enough to make peace with his estranged father before returning home to the United States. But Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and sealed off Iraq's borders to every man of military ageincluding Kendarian. Suddenly forced onto the frontlines, he saw his two-week visit turn into a nightmare that lasted for ten years. Kendarian miraculously survived the Iran-Iraq War and Desert Storm, the minefields, sinking boats, fires, starvation, heavy interrogation, and solitary confinement. What broke him in the end was his love affair with a female soldier named Monica. Yet throughout his ordeal, he never lost his respect for people, his faith in God, or his sense of humor. His story is a unique look into a country and a culture only hinted at in the headlines.