I bought this before a work trip to Erbil and it saved me from making a fool of myself more than once. The first chapter on what actually surprises you when you arrive was spot-on — I genuinely wasn't expecting how much people would invite me into their homes, or how much tea is a social ritual. Lost one star only because it focuses on the central/southern experience a bit more than I needed for Kurdistan, but the practical stuff on transport and money was worth it alone.

Decent overview but I was hoping for more specific details on hotels and exact prices, which the book deliberately avoids. The writing style is engaging, like a friend briefing you, and the First Impressions chapter about the welcome you get is accurate. It left me a bit unsure about budgeting though — I like numbers, and this is more about vibe and culture than hard data. Good for cultural context, less for hard planning.

As someone just curious about the country, not going anywhere, this was a revelation. The chapter on first impressions describes that mix of chaos, pride, and hospitality better than anything I've read. I appreciated that it doesn't sugarcoat the problems either — traffic, bureaucracy, the state of the infrastructure — but it balances it with the warmth of the people. It's the kind of book that makes you want to actually go.

It's a useful read, and the first chapter on what people get wrong about Iraq is written well — it made me rethink a lot of assumptions. But I felt it could have dug deeper on safety specifics and regional differences in the early sections, and some of the advice felt a bit generic for anyone who travels in the Middle East. Still, worth the money for the dos and don'ts alone, and it answered my basic questions about daily life.