Dots on the Letters - Unpublished Articles

Author's name: Ali Al-Wardi

In his book, "Dots on the Letters," Salam Al-Shamaa collects the unpublished writings of the distinguished Iraqi sociologist Dr. Ali Al-Wardi. Through them, he presents the reader with the basic ideas that this scholar discussed in cultural gatherings and press interviews, all of which revolve around the nature of the Iraqi personality and the characteristics of Iraqi society. The book is almost a summary of all the books written by Al-Wardi, starting with his booklet (The Personality of the Iraqi Individual) in the early 1950s, passing through (Preachers of the Sultans) and ending with the last volume of his famous encyclopedia (Social Glimpses from the History of Modern Iraq). The book is a collection of articles written by Al-Wardi for Al-Ittihad newspaper, which was published by the Iraqi Federation of Industries in the late 1980s, as well as other ideas and opinions for which Al-Wardi was famous in his treatment of Iraqi societal issues. Moreover, the book indirectly presents vivid, unseen images of Baghdad's cultural life before the American invasion of Iraq: the cultural councils that were held in some of the venerable houses and attended by the elite of cultural and literary figures and some interested people from the general public, and in which free discussions took place, sometimes calm and sober and sometimes noisy, on various topics, foremost among which are the ideas that Al-Wardi puts forward in this book and in his presence. Accordingly, the contents of the book are divided into twelve chapters, which are: 1- Compulsive Drives in Man, 2- The Unconscious, 3- Modern Civilization, 4- The Mind, 5- Discord, 6- Social Injustice, 7- Higher Education, 8- Criticism of Marxism, 9- Journalism and Society, 10- Utopian Thinking, 11- On Criticism, 12- Appendices, which include: “Social Studies: Public Opinion and the Mob/ Ali Al-Wardi”, “From Ali Al-Wardi’s Papers on the Meaning of Civilization”, “The Thinker Dr. Ali Al-Wardi/ Dr. Abdul Sattar Ezz El-Din Al-Rawi”, “Dr. Ali Al-Wardi and the Popular Clinic Magazine/ Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Khalil Al-Allaf