Send your Grishams to Iraq

In the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniya, reports Christopher Hitchens, once "a howling wilderness of wrecked towns and gassed, cleansed villages", the American University of Iraq has just opened its doors, and is appealing for people to donate books. According to Thomas Cushman, a professor of sociology at Wellesley College:

What I did was ask colleagues to donate books, which they did in good numbers. We sent thirty cartons of first-rate books, especially on global affairs, history and literature and they are housed in the new library … The university is especially in need of technical books, social science books, software even … Nathan Musselman, the Prefect of the University who is teaching a class, wrote to me thrilled to tell me that the students were now writing their term papers in English and using many of these books as their main sources for research. He is greatly desirous of receiving more, now that the initial library is set up.… So the idea is to get people to donate in a more micro way; to send one or two new, current and important books (perhaps they have review copies, extra copies, etc) to the new library of the University. All of these small polyps could yield a substantial coral reef of knowledge for the new generation of students there.

Books should be sent to:—

Nathan Musselman
The American University of Iraq—Sulaimani
Building No. 7, Street 10
Quarter 410
Ablakh Area
Sulaimani, Iraq
(+964) (0)770-461-5099

It's important to include the number at the end.