I Was Saddam's Son: As Seen on 60 Minutes A Shocking Eye Witness Account By The Man Who Was Forced to Serve As The Double of Saddam Hussein's Son

'I Was Saddam's Son' (c 1994) is the original edition of the book which later became the basis for the film 'The Devil's Double' and the re-release of the book with that title. There is also, apparently, a later reissue of the book under the title 'I Was Saddam's Son', presumably with an afterword updated to include the death of Uday and Saddam following the American invasion of Iraq in 2002. (So far as I can determine these all contain the same basic story.) However, it is not the same book as 'The Black Hole: The Real Story of the Man Who Was Forced to Become the Double Of Saddam Hussein's Sadistic Son', which is the sequel to 'I Was Saddam's Son'.This original version, the one I read, is the autobiographical tale of Latif Yahya Latif, the son of a wealthy Baghdad Kurdish businessman and schoolmate of Uday Saddam Hussein, the outrageous son of then-president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. Latif, during his army service in the days of the Iran-Iraq War, is recruited by Uday to serve as his fidai (body double) on account of their remarkable shared likeness. The book is a description of Latif's five years (1987-1991) of compulsory fidai-ship to one of theworld's most debauched, cruel, and childish human beings. Uday, whether he knew it or not, was very much a modern Caligula, living a life of daily inebriation, immaculate private high society clubs, parties, rape, murder, torture,racing cars, and immeasurable wealth -- all of which he seemed very much to enjoy.Latif's five years as Uday's fidai, while it had its admitted moments of surrogate pleasure, was a miserable farce, and the horrors he witnessed (and underwent) enraged him enough to later commit it all to paper. Aside from the lurid worth of the details of Uday's rapes of numerous young women, tortures of dissidents (suspected and actual), and other less intimate measures of cruelty, the book is of historical value as a member, however unwilling, of Saddam's inner circle. No one else with this kind of access has survived to publish.Latif was present at several well-known events such as the murder of Kamel Hannah and the invasion and looting of Kuwait (something he was forced even to take part in.) Other lesser known details about Saddam's entourage and power structure are also made known. Most fascinating to me is the description of Latif's 'education' (six months spent learning to imitate Uday's speech patterns and manner.)Since the first Gulf War (during which he escaped Iraq), the author has found himself in the unenviable position of global wanderer, too hot for permanent asylum in European countries, and (at least until 2002), still a target for Uday's assassins abroad. The book, co-authored by Karl Wendl, feels, therefore, like a kind of testament, a desperate breech of secretslaid bare in case one day the assassins finally caught up with him. At the same time, I felt perpetual wonder at what he must be holding back for the safety of his family, still living in Baghdad.A book of this sort cannot be without its detractors, however illogical. For example, Irish Times journalist Eoin Butler considers the affair "to put it mildly, far-fetched." You can read his Guardian article here:[...]Although most forms of journalistic skepticism are healthy, on the whole, I have to say I find Eoin Butler's critique a lot less convincing, given the emphasis he places on the testimonial of Latif's estranged wife, and the total lack of US and UK intelligence sources.

Having read different titles about Saddam and his regime, especially after 11/09/01 I have found this book "ICH WAR SADDAMS SOHN" to have painted the most acurate and discriptive picture of life in the Saddam Clan.It offered a look into the everyday workings of the IraqiTyrant and of course his notorious son. From the start, you are under no illusion of the lengths that were taken to ensure the "family's" safety not to mention the unbridled brutality that Uday Saddam Hussein is notorious for.An interesting fact is that Uday was always a callous and sadistic person, he did not develop his penchant for torture overnight, it was a culmination of bad deeds over the years that brought his true disregard for human life and dignity to the fore. As his behaviour went unchecked his passion for brutality grew.Having seen the author Dr. Latif Yahia on BBC Channel's Breakfast with Frost on Sunday 15/06/03, I have had to ask myself why this man was not asked to share his knowledge of the Iraqi Regime, surely it would have been of benefit to the Government and possibly they would not have ended in the quagmire that they are in now.I thoroughly enjoyed this book on several levels and await a sequel, I'm sure the story doesn't just end at the authors flight from Iraq.

Having read different titles about Saddam and his regime, especially after 11/09/01 I have found this book "ICH WAR SADDAMS SOHN" to have painted the most acurate and discriptive picture of life in the Saddam Clan.It offered a look into the everyday workings of the IraqiTyrant and of course his notorious son. From the start, you are under no illusion of the lengths that were taken to ensure the "family's" safety not to mention the unbridled brutality that Uday Saddam Hussein is notorious for.An interesting fact is that Uday was always a callous and sadistic person, he did not develop his penchant for torture overnight, it was a culmination of bad deeds over the years that brought his true disregard for human life and dignity to the fore. As his behaviour went unchecked his passion for brutality grew.Having seen the author Dr. Latif Yahia on BBC Channel's Breakfast with Frost on Sunday 15/06/03, I have had to ask myself why this man was not asked to share his knowledge of the Iraqi Regime, surely it would have been of benefit to the Government and possibly they would not have ended in the quagmire that they are in now.I thoroughly enjoyed this book on several levels and await a sequel, I'm sure the story doesn't just end at the authors flight from Iraq.