Syria: Descent into the Abyss

by Robert Fisk, Patrick Cockburn, Kim Sengupta

This remarkable anthology chronicles more than three years of spiralling violence and despair in Syria: atrocity heaped upon atrocity, misery upon misery, and all - so far - to no avail. No faction is without blood on its hands; no crime, from torture to poison gas, has been deemed taboo. The dead are too numerous to count. As for the living, close to 3 million refugees have fled Syria, with millions more internally displaced. How did we come to this? There is no better way to answer this question than to revisit The Independent's published accounts of the unfolding tragedy. Spearheaded by peerless and profoundly experienced correspondents such as Patrick Cockburn, Robert Fisk, Kim Sengupta, our coverage has led the world in its fearlessness and insight. Syria's tragedy is not yet over.

Genres: History, Middle East, Politics, Journalism, Nonfiction

261 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2014

About the author

Robert Fisk was an English writer and journalist. As Middle East correspondent of The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years. He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States'war in Afghanistan and its 2003 invasion of Iraq. Fisk holds more British and International Journalism awards than any other foreign correspondent. The New York Times once described Robert Fisk as "probably the most famous foreign correspondent in Britain.

Fisk has said that journalism must "challenge authority, all authority, especially so when governments and politicians take us to war." He is a pacifist and has never voted.

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good look into the Syrian war from almost day 1 until the end of 2014. While it is not a scholarly study (Nor is it meant to be), the reporting is top notch in my opinion. It has that urgency and rawness that someone on the ground while it is happening can only provide. I learned a lot, some of which I wish wasn't true, but that is truly life.

[Mohammed P Aslam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Recently I was looking to find a book which would enlighten me about some of the key events taking place in a brutal conflict in Syria. I was intrigued to read this book which had been put together by Robert Fisk and others and therefore, I imagined it to be an informative and an imaginative read.

Very quickly I realised that this book descended in to a revisionist analogue; although quite cleverly put together and which spanned the period of Spring 2011 to Autumn 2015. The work is nothing more than an old collection of traditionally selected newspaper articles, it had very little else to offer. I was placidly disappointed with the book which was anything but an informed perspective and most probably a significantly biased opinion about the events taking place across the other side of the world. In several parts of the book, you have quite misleading headings which in the first instance made one assume that the book is based on objectivity rather than bias news reporting. I was sadly mistaken.

The first chapter that caught my eye was titled Summer of 2013 - 'The media is getting it wrong'.

One would not be blamed to imagine that this section of the book would highlight aspects of inaccurate news reporting however, as a reader I was again mistaken. This chapter was about how the EU had failed the renew EU sanctions which were being led by the British government. The story was about the British government rather than Syria concerning the failure to apply sanction on time. The authors continues to offer misleading headings throughout the book. Therefore the title of 'the media is getting it wrong' is not an attempt of self reflection on bad news reporting, it was instead a government failure to ensure the media understanding on how certain events were misinterpreted. I was surprised to see how the book was littered with such blatant and shamelessly propagandistic news for public consumption.

This book is not a serious and objective read on an important international conflict; it is however a book to read on a holiday journey to a topless beach for men in Spain or maybe to the Outer Hebrides.

[Aleksei Uljassov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book filled with facts by Robert Fisk and co. Also a great reminder for the people who followed the actual events closely, when they were happening.
Besides recapping the book also showed some facts that I missed or never even encountered during 2014 and knew nothing about.
A great, but rather hard read, as the books is filled by comments from the people who suffered these events first hand. The authors do not shy away from the grim commentary made by the local population.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

No new ground covered here if you've been following the news -- but so handy to have it all in one place, even though it's incredibly depressing to read in sequence and watch the disaster unfold, and continue to unfold, and continue...