IT WAS, IT WAS NOT: ESSAYS AND ART ON THE WAR AGAINST IRAQ Edited by Mordecai Briemberg Vancouver, New Star Books, 1992. 366pp, paper, $16.95, ISBN 0-921586-21-3. CIP Grades 10 and up/Ages 15 and up Reviewed by Thomas F. Chambers Volume 20 Number 4 1992 September It Was, It Was Not is a powerful anti-war statement. It re-creates the tragedy of the Gulf War much as a coroner's report analyses the causes of a death. It is a thorough, very engrossing study, one that readers will return to many times because of the haunting nature of the essays, the poems, and the photos. This is a rare book, written by knowledgeable people who take complex issues and make them easy to understand. It is a must for anyone who wishes a clearer understanding of the politics and culture of the Middle East. There is, however, much more than this. It Was, It Was Not goes far beyond the Gulf War to include a variety of interesting topics. These include a history of Christian Europe's relationship with the Islamic world, the Palestinian issue, and the shortage of water in the Middle East. The inclusion of poems and photographs adds a human touch to the Gulf War, a sense of reality that was missing from the surgical television coverage. One of the most powerful is about an unknown Iraqi soldier who was killed in the cab of his truck by American pilots in what they described as the "turkey shoot" when the Iraqi army tried to flee Kuwait. In the poem "A Cold Coming" by English poet Tony Harrison, this unknown man again becomes a living person with a personality and feelings. It is a fitting tribute to all who died in this senseless war. Thomas F. Chambers teaches politics, economics and history at Canadore College of Applied Arts and Technology in North Bay, Ontario.