Holiday guides to Iraq snapped up

[aaron]

Speculation over a US-led invasion of Iraq has prompted an unexpected surge in sales of holiday guides to the country.

Buckinghamshire-based Bradt Travel Guides, which specialises in books dealing with unusual destinations, has been forced to order a fresh print run of its publication on Iraq. The company, based in the village of Chalfont St Peter, even received a call from a member of the US State Department earlier this week requesting a copy.

Office manager Janet Mears said: "We publish books to off-beat places anyway but I must admit that this one has taken us a little by surprise. Of course a lot of them will be armchair readers."

The guide was first published in April last year with an initial print run of 4,000 copies. But after the surge in demand, including 1,600 copies sold to readers in the US, the firm decided to print another 3,000.

The book's author, freelance journalist Karen Dabrowska, said: "I think people are thinking, 'What is this country America is going to go and drop all those bombs on?'. They want to know what are the people like and what's going to be destroyed."

Aaron
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