In this well-researched and highly readable account, NPR reporter Deborah Amos clarifies the complexities of ethnic conflict in Iraq, including the challenges created by mass resettlement and exile. In Damascus, Amman, and Beirut, Amos speaks to former members of the Ba'ath party, ordinary Sunnis, Christian Iraqis, and others forced to flee from the Shi'i militias or the general chaos of their country. Their narratives illuminate the destruction of a vibrant culture and the on-going trauma faced by the dispossessed and displaced.