Seeking Gaddafi: Libya, the West and the Arab Spring

by Daniel Kawczynski

This fascinating examination of the persona and career of one of the world's most enigmatic leaders asks how, in the wake of the controversial release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, we can balance the crimes of the past against engaging with a regime reaching out to the West.

306 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2010

Reviews

[Maik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kawczynski has played a very clever game in choosing to write a book about Gaddafi, as it seems that any book on that subject must either be little more than a pamphlet, or must include any one of the huge number of things that marked as exceptional his time as Libya's head of state. Nonetheless, I feel even a less interesting subject for this book would have been rendered hugely enjoyable to read, organising it's chapters into subjects which happen to give a an idea of the chronology, rather than a dull regurgitated timeline. Of course, in an ideal world this would have been written just two short years later, as the Gaddafi story wrapped up pretty soon after this book, relatively speaking, but it's not a fair criticism of an author that they did not predict the future.

[Nur · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating portrait of one of the most controversial figures in modern history. Must read ...