As scholars have said, it is one of the best performed works in English about the Shia of Iraq and I would have to agree with them. Of all the books I have read on this topic it was by far the most informative and intriguing. It offers insight into a community where not much information is known. I believe this book was intended for academic purposes because it presents a multitude of facts with excellent research and sources. It is intended to teach people more about a country whose history is not well known and is not meant to be funny or make you laugh. It was difficult for me to complete especially because it's not a topic that interests me much. There are not many books on this topic and for this reason I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this topic as well as Iraq and Iran in