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In 2011, a series of anti-government uprisings shook the Middle East and North Africa in what would become known as the Arab Spring. Few could predict that these convulsions, initially hailed in the West as a triumph of democracy, would give way to brutal civil war, the terrors of the Islamic State, and a global refugee crisis. But, as New York Times bestselling author Scott Anderson shows, the seeds of catastrophe had been sown long before. In this gripping account, Anderson examines the myriad complex causes of the region’s profound unraveling, tracing the ideological conflicts of the present to their origins in the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003 and beyond. From this investigation emerges a rare view into a land in upheaval through the eyes of six individuals—the matriarch of a dissident Egyptian family; a Libyan Air Force cadet with divided loyalties; a Kurdish physician from a prominent warrior clan; a Syrian university student caught in civil war; an Iraqi activist for women’s rights; and an Iraqi day laborer-turned-ISIS fighter. A probing and insightful work of reportage, Fractured Lands offers a penetrating portrait of the contemporary Arab world and brings the stunning realities of an unprecedented geopolitical tragedy into crystalline focus.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 2, 2017 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780525434443
- File size: 26556 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780525434443
- File size: 27005 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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May 15, 2017
Since 2011, antigovernment protests and revolutions known as the Arab Spring have occurred throughout the Middle East and North Africa. At the same time, some countries in the region have experienced new waves of terrorism and the rise of ISIS (Islamic State). In addition, there is the current civil war in Syria, and the involvement of several world powers. Author and veteran war correspondent Anderson (War Zones) walks through these events using the perspectives of an Egyptian dissident, a Libyan Air Force cadet, a Kurdish physician, a Syrian university student, an Iraqi women's rights activist, and an ISIS fighter. The author paints a picture of the Arab world in revolt, where the West shaped geographical lines, but where its citizens look first to family and tribal ties. Anderson weaves seamlessly between the narratives and corresponding events to give a chronological, exclusive account of the ongoing crisis in the region through the words of its own people. VERDICT Grounded by its human-interest stories, this book will appeal to many readers looking to make sense of current events.--Heidi Uphoff, Sandia National Laboratories, NM
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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