Saul Silas Fathi was born to a prominent Jewish family in Baghdad, Iraq. At age 10 he and his younger brother were smuggled out of Baghdad through Iran and eventually reached the newly-found State of Israel. He began writing his diary at age 11.
Saul enrolled in the Israel Air force Academy of Aeronautics, a 4-year program, where he earned his High-School diploma and became certified in Electrical Engineering. In 1958 he worked his way to Brazil where he nearly starved. Through perseverance and luck, he stated his own electrical business and earned a patent for climate-controlled windows, used in the building of the new capital, Brasilia.
In 1960 he came to the United States on a student visa, studying sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and American history and public speech at the New School of Social Studies in New York. After 8 months, Saul volunteered to serve 3 years in the U.S. Army having been promised college education and U.S. citizenship.
After basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia, he was sent to helicopter school at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and enrolled at the University Of Virginia. Within a few months he was shipped to South Korea where he served as Chief Electrical Technician with the 1st Cavalry Division, 15th Aviation Company, and the famed Helicopter Division in the Vietnam War.
Back in the U.S. Saul battled the Immigration department for his citizenship, while studying at the University of Virginia and finally earning his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. This launched and impressive career as a high-level executive with several Fortune-500 companies. Later, he founded and managed three high-tech companies.
Saul retired in 2003 and began writing his memoirs "Full Circle: Escape from Baghdad and the return ". Today he lives in Long Island, New York with his wife Rachelle. He has 3 American born daughters and 3 grand-children. He is a certified linguist, fluent in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Portuguese. He is the author of 5 books.
