Iraq in the 1950s was a place of terrible poverty, poor water systems, and rich cultural traditions. As Doris Goodrich entered the society as both an American and an intellectual, she found herself granted access to parts of the Iraqi world many other women were not.
Sent to Iraq as part of a cultural research assignment, Doris kept a remarkably open and detailed journal of her eighteen-month experience living in Iraq and traveling throughout the Middle East.
In lighthearted prose full of rich insight, My 18 Months in Iraq offers colorful descriptions of the culture, locations, and environments-from the Mongolian influence on the Kurd's wardrobe, to the traditional marriage customs, to a special excursion to swim in the Caspian Sea-that draw the reader in to Goodrich's journal entries, which often feel more like serials in a travel magazine.
Packed with vivid descriptions, her captivating, provocative, and entertaining observations offer a rare glimpse into life in 1950s Iraq from the unique perspective of a female outsider who's also intimately familiar with the history and culture of the country.
About the Author: Born in 1925, Doris Goodrich received her BA in 1947 and her PhD in 1955, both in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. A Ford Foundation Fellow, she was granted a thirty-one month fellowship that included a year researching at the Library of Congress and pursuing Arabic studies at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University prior to leaving for the Middle East. Goodrich was an economics professor at Penn State, State College of Washington at Pullman, and California State University at Fullerton. She died in 1971 in Brea, California.
Lindy Allen, Goodrich's niece, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, as well, but with a degree in anthropology. Upon inheriting her aunt's journal, documenting her time spent in the Middle East during the 1950s, Allen recognized its historical value and set to work editing it for publication as the memoir My 18 Months in Iraq.
