num_pages: 176
description: At the start of 1991 eleven-year-old Ali Fadhil was consumed by his love for soccer video games and American television shows. Then on January 17 Iraqs dictator Saddam Hussein went to war with thirty-four nations lead by the United States.Over the next forty-three days Ali and his family survived bombings food shortages and constant fear. Ali and his brothers played soccer on the abandoned streets of their Basra neighborhood wondering when or if their medic father would return from the war front. Cinematic accessible and timely this is the story of one ordinary kids view of life during war.
language: English
title: Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein
publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers