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It Started in Damascus: How the Long Syrian Revolution Reshaped Our World
Syrians have longed for the ordinary life that eluded them for decades. When President Bashar Assad was unexpectedly overthrown in December 2024, they celebrated the end of a dictatorial dynasty. But as they strive for post-Assad justice, they must grapple with the legacy of a fight for freedom that started many years earlier.
Damascus-born Rime Allaf tells the poignant story of a struggle for dignity that has shaken the world. When Hafez Assad’s violent rule ended in 2000, many believed his son would bring change. Instead, Bashar spent his first decade in power meddling regionally and reneging on promises of domestic reform. When Syrians finally rose up in revolution in 2011, they were mercilessly crushed by the regime—with extensive Iranian and Russian support—and abandoned by the foreign powers claiming to support them. The consequences of these events still reverberate internationally, in the largest refugee crisis since World War Two and in a new global order that has weakened democracy and privileged authoritarians.
Combining expert analysis, evocative storytelling and the author’s deep personal connection with the region, It Started in Damascus paints an intimate portrait of a devastated society and a resilient people determined to find their peace.
Damascus-born Rime Allaf tells the poignant story of a struggle for dignity that has shaken the world. When Hafez Assad’s violent rule ended in 2000, many believed his son would bring change. Instead, Bashar spent his first decade in power meddling regionally and reneging on promises of domestic reform. When Syrians finally rose up in revolution in 2011, they were mercilessly crushed by the regime—with extensive Iranian and Russian support—and abandoned by the foreign powers claiming to support them. The consequences of these events still reverberate internationally, in the largest refugee crisis since World War Two and in a new global order that has weakened democracy and privileged authoritarians.
Combining expert analysis, evocative storytelling and the author’s deep personal connection with the region, It Started in Damascus paints an intimate portrait of a devastated society and a resilient people determined to find their peace.
- GenresHistoryMiddle East
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 6, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 23, 2025
A powerful personal account of more than fifty years under an oppressive regime determined to reshape a country, its land, and its people into a nightmarish cult of one ruler. Allaf weaves her lived experiences so seamlessly into the broader political and historical narrative that the reader feels as if they’re sitting in the front row of events that so many Syrians witnessed and endured.
The Syria Rime Allaf portrays is almost a living organism — evolving, adapting, and accumulating layers of trauma and resilience over decades. Yet she manages to distill this vast history into intimate, human stories without losing the clarity or cohesiveness of an academic work. It’s a rare blend of personal testimony and rigorous insight, and it stays with you long after the final page.
The Syria Rime Allaf portrays is almost a living organism — evolving, adapting, and accumulating layers of trauma and resilience over decades. Yet she manages to distill this vast history into intimate, human stories without losing the clarity or cohesiveness of an academic work. It’s a rare blend of personal testimony and rigorous insight, and it stays with you long after the final page.
December 29, 2025
After reading such a well-crafted telling of such emotional, important, devastating, and world-altering events, I can't think of anything meaningful to say besides "wow".
It's rare to find a book about brutal regimes and their consequences that manages to keep the reader so hooked, but I say this one takes the cake. I feel like I've learned all about Syria's recent history by being led through each event firsthand, rather than staring at a textbook, and let me tell you what a brilliant difference that personal touch makes. I feel this book is imbued with the Syrian spirit Ms Allaf speaks so highly of, which says a lot about its excellence.
God, the sarcasm in this book is something else! As we uncovered more of the regime's complete absurdity, Ms Allaf bites back with absolute wit (and let me tell you I did not expect to be laughing this much). I think the deeply real narrative voice was one of the aspects that made this book stick with me.
If you take one thing from my review, let it be this; PLEASE do not shy away from this book just because of how severe the subject is. It is an explanation before anything else. It is a tale of amazingly strong-willed people and their culture, character, dignity, and determination that always outweighed the force of criminal regimes and militias. Plus, as I mentioned, it's BRILLIANTLY funny in all the right places, emotional and informative, and clearly the product of an incredibly skilled writer.
PS. Never getting over the conspiracy that FC Barcelona was actually 'giving Syrian rebels secret messages on how to smuggle weapons', because that is comedy gold.
It's rare to find a book about brutal regimes and their consequences that manages to keep the reader so hooked, but I say this one takes the cake. I feel like I've learned all about Syria's recent history by being led through each event firsthand, rather than staring at a textbook, and let me tell you what a brilliant difference that personal touch makes. I feel this book is imbued with the Syrian spirit Ms Allaf speaks so highly of, which says a lot about its excellence.
God, the sarcasm in this book is something else! As we uncovered more of the regime's complete absurdity, Ms Allaf bites back with absolute wit (and let me tell you I did not expect to be laughing this much). I think the deeply real narrative voice was one of the aspects that made this book stick with me.
If you take one thing from my review, let it be this; PLEASE do not shy away from this book just because of how severe the subject is. It is an explanation before anything else. It is a tale of amazingly strong-willed people and their culture, character, dignity, and determination that always outweighed the force of criminal regimes and militias. Plus, as I mentioned, it's BRILLIANTLY funny in all the right places, emotional and informative, and clearly the product of an incredibly skilled writer.
PS. Never getting over the conspiracy that FC Barcelona was actually 'giving Syrian rebels secret messages on how to smuggle weapons', because that is comedy gold.
December 23, 2025
From the very first page, It Started in Damascus captivates the reader with its vivid storytelling and emotional depth. Having lived in Damascus as a child, as a son of a diplomat, I was struck by how authentically Rime Allaf paints the city, her descriptions transport you back to its streets, its sounds, the smell, and its soul. It feels as though you are walking alongside her, experiencing the beauty and complexity of a place that holds so much history and heartache.
The narrative is layered with moments of humor and biting sarcasm, a tone that resonates deeply with Syrians who, under the barbaric Assad regime, often used wit as a shield against despair and fear. This blend of lightness and gravity makes the book not only compelling but profoundly human.
More than a memoir, this is a testament to resilience and the universal yearning for dignity and freedom. It reminds us that no matter where we are born, every human being has an inalienable right to live free from oppression. For anyone who values these principles, It Started in Damascus is an essential read—powerful, poignant, and unforgettable.
The narrative is layered with moments of humor and biting sarcasm, a tone that resonates deeply with Syrians who, under the barbaric Assad regime, often used wit as a shield against despair and fear. This blend of lightness and gravity makes the book not only compelling but profoundly human.
More than a memoir, this is a testament to resilience and the universal yearning for dignity and freedom. It reminds us that no matter where we are born, every human being has an inalienable right to live free from oppression. For anyone who values these principles, It Started in Damascus is an essential read—powerful, poignant, and unforgettable.
December 18, 2025
This is a beautifully written, captivating, well researched, insightful, personal and, on occasions, even humoristic book, providing the reader with a wonderful blend of scholarly rigid and anecdotal elements. It explains the multi-layered contemporary political developments in Syria and the country's more than five decades of Assadization by embedding them in a wider historical context as well as by putting the Syrian people at the centre.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews