Visiting Iraq in 1980, Kendarian's American citizenship didn't help him when Hussein invaded Iran and sealed off Iraq's borders to every man of military age. Including Shant. This memoir of war, starvation, imprisonment – even love – provides insight into a country and culture only hinted at in the headlines. "[He] writes matter-of-factly, with the stoicism of someone who has endured the seemingly unendurable."—Entertainment Weekly