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kafka_on_the_shore's review against another edition
4.0
In the early months of 2011, the Arab world was shaken apart by the cry of revolutions. Beginning with Tunisia, the 'Arab Spring' as it came to be called as, quickly spread to other states such as Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Syria. After years of subjugation and repression under autocratic and ruthless dictatorial regimes, the people in these countries guided by the tech savvy and social media inspired younger generation took to the streets demanding for a change towards democracy. This book is an unbiased first hand account of the revolution in Libya leading to the fall of Gaddafi regime written by an able war correspondent who weathered the vagaries of a near civil war to bring truth before the world.
Throwing light on the causes that led to the onset of the revolution, the author explains using testimonies of the most significant stakeholders - Libyan people - how the prevalent corruption and high handedness of the violent Gaddafi regime not only thwarted institution building but also led to extra judicial killings of a large number of common people accused of dissent. The book also reflects on the past incidents which establish Gaddafi as a rogue despot and Libya as a Pariah state using terrorism to achieve its ends. By giving voice to the rebels and regime players, the author has reconstructed the entire chronology of the uprising in a manner which is easily comprehensible to the reader. The book also contains sufficient material which unearths the duplicity of the West as it dealt with the growing protests in Libya and elsewhere such as Bahrain differently; ostensibly to safeguard its own interests in the volatile middle east region.
Most importantly, the book sounds caution as the transition government established after the fall of Tripoli went about carrying out its business. Even as the people were basking in the toppling of forty two year old ruthless regime, cracks appeared in the new government apparatus leaving the all too apparent divisions in the Libyan society for the world to see. If the events in the last six years are anything to go by, one can safely conclude that the warnings and apprehensions expressed by the author in the concluding pages of the book seem to be vindicated. Overall an enlightening book for anyone who seeks to enlighten themselves about the Arab Spring as it played out in Libya.
Throwing light on the causes that led to the onset of the revolution, the author explains using testimonies of the most significant stakeholders - Libyan people - how the prevalent corruption and high handedness of the violent Gaddafi regime not only thwarted institution building but also led to extra judicial killings of a large number of common people accused of dissent. The book also reflects on the past incidents which establish Gaddafi as a rogue despot and Libya as a Pariah state using terrorism to achieve its ends. By giving voice to the rebels and regime players, the author has reconstructed the entire chronology of the uprising in a manner which is easily comprehensible to the reader. The book also contains sufficient material which unearths the duplicity of the West as it dealt with the growing protests in Libya and elsewhere such as Bahrain differently; ostensibly to safeguard its own interests in the volatile middle east region.
Most importantly, the book sounds caution as the transition government established after the fall of Tripoli went about carrying out its business. Even as the people were basking in the toppling of forty two year old ruthless regime, cracks appeared in the new government apparatus leaving the all too apparent divisions in the Libyan society for the world to see. If the events in the last six years are anything to go by, one can safely conclude that the warnings and apprehensions expressed by the author in the concluding pages of the book seem to be vindicated. Overall an enlightening book for anyone who seeks to enlighten themselves about the Arab Spring as it played out in Libya.
cony612's review against another edition
i find it hard to rate academic books especially when it’s about the politics and history of a country I learn about everyday through my internship and dissertation research, but it was very interesting! i liked the fact that it focused on the profiles of people involved in pre revolutionary Libya, and the historical facts weren’t explained with too scientific terms from academia so i definitely recommend to people wanting to get introducing to fascinating libyan politics :)
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