Plumb Bob

This book

The subtitle of the book summarizes its content (Western efforts in building and supporting the Iraqi state).

The book is surveying the time period (1914-1958) in Iraq, highlighting the first steps in building the institutions of the Iraqi state, including education, health, transportation, agriculture, irrigation, survey, internal security, and others. The book follows the process of transferring administration from the hands of the British to the Iraqis, and from the military to the civilian side. The book is a panorama of the most prominent Western advisors, including persons, missions, and companies that contributed alongside the Iraqis in building this state. The book examines the Anglo-American and international institutions that formed the advisory basis for the Iraqi Development Board, which represents the pinnacle of development in that country.

The book is an excavation of Western civilization in Mesopotamia, and a large part of these antiquities were contributed by Iraqis in a fundamental and effective way, such as dams, factories, farms, and hospitals, whether they were engineers, doctors, workers, or farmers