Full Circle: Escape from Baghdad and the Return
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In addition to being selected a finalist in Foreword Magazine, the book also won the "2005 Distinguished Honor Award" from the Military Writers Society of America. The link can be viewed at www.militarywriters.com/awards.htm
Full Circle: Escape from Baghdad and the Return chronicles a prominent Iraqi Jewish family’s escape from persecution, through the journey of one family member, a young boy, who witnesses public hangings and the 1941 Krystallnacht (Farhood) in Baghdad. After a dangerous escape from Iraq akin to a Sephardic Schindler’s List, this ten-year-old begins a lifelong search for meaning and his place in the world. This journey takes him to the newly-formed nation of Israel, then to Brazil, and eventually to the United States, where he serves in the US Army in Korea, works in top level positions with three Fortune 500 companies, starts several businesses, and volunteers to assist the FBI after September 11, 2001. This chronicle strives to explore questions of meaning such as: Does hardship taint the lure of adventure for any young man? What sustains hope? Does a persecuted Jew ever feel at home anywhere? This young man’s journey and subsequent identity crisis interfaces with historical happenings in the world and brings an understanding of the culture and contributions of Sephardic Jews.
There has been much written about the Jewish population in Germany and Europe and what they suffered, but little is known about Sephardic Jews who have also been persecuted in other countries, especially in Iraq, a country of which we as Americans have some familiarity, but know very little about.
Saul Silas Fathi
(631) 232-1638
fathi@optonline.net
Published Author by Saul Silas Fathi
December 5, 2005 (Central Islip, NY) – Historical conflicts, persecution and social unrests have always forced people to leave their homeland and move towards uncertainty. And because of these, the search for meaning only becomes more difficult and sometimes impossible. One man however overcame great odds and found meaning at last when he completed his great journey of life, and readers can experience it all by reading author Saul Silas Fathi’s amazing new book Full Circle: Escape From Baghdad and The Return.
Epic in proportion, Full Circle tells the full life journey of the author who witnessed public executions as a young boy and escaped with his Iraqi Jewish family from certain persecution in Iraq during the mid twentieth century. At the age of ten, the author began an ambitious personal journey to find the meaning of life as well as his place in the world. Through the years, he traveled to the newly-formed Israel, to Brazil and eventually to the United States of America and in each country he learned and experienced a lot about life, culture, knowledge and survival. Determined to excel, Saul completed his education, joined the U.S. Army and ultimately he became an American citizen as well as a high-level executive working with Fortune-500 companies.
Aside from his struggles and achievements, Saul’s book explores the depths of man’s search for meaning, which includes his insights about hope, his Sephardic Jewish heritage, the impacts of 9/11 and the Gulf War, identity crisis, and more. Readers will be astonished with the great
About the Author
Saul Silas Fathi was born to a prominent Jewish family in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 8, 1938. At age 10, he and his younger brother were smuggled out of Baghdad through Iran and eventually reached the newly formed state of Israel. Israel was only a short stop in Saul’s life but it captured his heart and his mind. He continued his travels to Brazil and later to the United States. In 1960, he began studying sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and American history and public speaking a the New School of Social Studies. In the same year, Saul volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army, having been promised a college education and U.S. citizenship at the conclusion of his duties. He served in South Korea as Chief Electrical Technician with the 1st Cavalry Division, 15th Aviation Company, the famed helicopter division in the Vietnam War. At the University of Virginia, Saul earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and went on to work as a high-level executive with several Fortune-500 companies. Later, he founded and managed three high-tech companies of his own over a 20-year period. Today, he lives in Long Island, New York, with his wife Rachelle and has three U.S.-born daughters and one granddaughter.