Book Release and Luncheon: Show of Hands by Dr. Joseph Agris

Join for a talk by Houston author Dr. Joseph Agris about his sixth book, Show of Hands: Story of Saddam Hussein. Book funds go toward The Children's Foundation, to help children with cleft lip and other related issues. 

Sponsored by the Houston Rotary Club.

RSVP: [email protected]

About the book: This is the story of how a group of determined civilians — with some "secret" help from the White House — rescued seven Iraqi men whose right hands had been savagely amputated, and their foreheads crudely tattooed, by order of Saddam Hussein. Officially the mutilations were punishment for dealing in gold and foreign currency, though the real reason was that the "seven brothers" had spoken out against Saddam's regime. They had suffered for years, not only from being maimed and disgraced but also from confinement in Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, where countless innocent people were tortured and executed. (Unfortunately, thanks to a small but notorious group of bad actors, abuses at the prison continued even after the American-led coalition ousted Saddam in 2003.)

When journalist and documentary producer Don North became aware of the plight Of the seven brothers, he set in motion an ambitious plan to rescue them, bring them to America, and have a team of American doctors fit them with prosthetic right hands. That's how renowned Houston plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Joseph Agris (aka "The Crazy Texan") became involved. Doc Joe has never been known to say "no" to a challenge.

And it was indeed a challenge, as the seven men had no passports or other identification papers, and the entire mission had to be accomplished without the "official" blessing of the US government. It was the government's "unofficial" blessing that saved the day, in the form of an executive memo — "The Letter" — issued by the Bush Administration. Even with The Letter, however, the mission to rescue the seven brothers, and a secondary mission to address the brutality at Abu Ghraib prison, were difficult and often dangerous.

This novelized memoir by surgeon and adventurer Dr. Joe Agris, who was a key player in the massive and complex effort to rescue the seven brothers and restore them to wholeness, tells an engaging story not only of an audacious mission of mercy, but also of efforts to bring justice to many thousands of victims of the human rights violations committed both under Saddam and under those who removed Saddam from power. The dramatized narrative describes how the rescuers' efforts were continually stymied by red tape, the egos of military leaders, and the arrogance of contract interrogators (not to mention by various physical miseries such as stifling heat and biting sand fleas, and occupational hazards such as encounters with the occasional murderous band of insurrectionists).

Beyond the main story, this book also touches on larger issues, such as the role news media and government propaganda play in warfare. Also addressed are the unintended consequences of military action in Iraq, which, two decades later, is still reeling from the instability created when Saddam was ousted. But the core message of A Show Of Hands is that even in the darkest of narratives, there is a ray of light. Or, as Doc Joe says in his Foreword, "Everywhere there are decent people who see a wrong and want to right it, and who will do whatever they can to  help those who can't help themselves." Doc Joe has seen firsthand that America is full of such altruistic people.

The story of the "seven brothers" is a poignant and powerful reminder that despite mistakes, missteps, and difficulty living up to its highest ideals, sometimes America really does get it right.