The American Translator: From San Francisco to Battlefields in Iraq

THE AMERICAN FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO BATTLEFIELDS IN IRAQ
Second Edition 2026

A Finalist in IAN Book Awards 2025. Long-listed for Katara Prize 2023 (Arabic THE AMERICAN WHO READ GILGAMESH).

This literary fiction doesn't recount a bygone Gulf war; rather, it explores enduring cross-cultural issues that persist and escalate, posing existential questions about self/ others, identity/ culture, language/ thoughts, arts/reality. duty/ survival- issues that continue to mount.

Through David's
- Ancient mysteries meet modern complexities.
- Diverse cultures and arts.
- Genre-bending fiction — a blend of mystery, thrill, history, war, adventure, multicultural, quest for meaning and self-discovery.
- Occasional sarcastic humor amidst geopolitics.
- Multilayered story of self and others.
- Lyrical exposition of scenery and feelings.

Join David grappling with existence, language, fate—where translation is lifeline and limit.

Story spans San Francisco, Iraq battlefields, Euphrates/Tigris palm groves, Saudi Arabia’s coastal area and ancient Mesopotamia.