Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart

by Scott Anderson

From the bestselling author of Lawrence in Arabia, a piercing account of how the contemporary Arab world came to be riven by catastrophe since the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq.

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East, Politics, War, Islam, Audiobook

210 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2016

About the author

Scott Anderson is a veteran war correspondent who has reported from Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Northern Ireland, Chechnya, Sudan, Bosnia, El Salvador, and many other strife-torn countries. He is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, and his work has also appeared in Vanity Fair, Esquire, Harper's and Outside.

Reviews

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a pretty impressive feat. Anderson introduces us to several characters from the Middle East. From an Egyptian activist to a Syrian student to a Libyan soldier, we follow these people through the events that occur in their country.

It’s important to put a disclaimer: a 210 page book is not able to sum up the Syrian civil war, the Libyan civil war, the Egyptian revolutions, the American invasion of Iraq and the rise of ISIS. However, Anderson does a great job of letting us in. He goes through the main events and it’s possible to follow without getting bogged down.

Each story feels distinct and there’s a narrative that is easy to follow. I’m not great with multiple characters so I was relieved to see I could keep track of everyone.

Moreover, I really truly cared. Each story felt so human, so relatable. I have not fought in civil wars. I have not watched my country fall apart. No members of my family have been arrested for political activism. And yet, I felt like these people’s experiences were so understandably, I felt so much empathy.

Of course, this book is mostly sad. Or, at least, I saw it as mostly sad. The Middle East (to me) just feels like so much wasted potential. There are so many reasons why things look the way they do but I can’t shake off the unfairness of it all. It doesn’t come from a place of pity- I wouldn’t want the entire world to be the same but it’s infuriating to see that people suffer needlessly.

Of course, I want to leave room to point out that it is up to people from countries mentioned here to speak up about the representation. I felt it was positive but I, of course, can't actually speak up on this from a place of knowledge (though I swear, I will live to be able to visit Syria, that has to happen in my lifetime).

I thought it was interesting to see how little Israel features. Admittedly, I have the classic Israeli syndrome of assuming we’re more important than we actually are. That said, it was fascinating to see that whenever Israel was brought up, it was in the context of anti-West sentiments. This strengthens my resolve that opposition to Israel really isn’t about the conflict. Tell me what you think about the West and I’ll tell you what you think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This is frustrating because we all end up losing when we play this game. Israel has so much to give and gain from integrating in the region. We are so much more than the narrow international politics. I hope we will be able to grow as a region and see that.

To conclude, I really enjoyed this book. If you’re looking for a good intro for history, this isn’t the right book but for a very human look at MENA, this book certainly works.

What I’m Taking With Me

- I’ll be honest- I read this book ages ago and only got around to finishing this review now so I don’t remember much details
- there was that cool egyptian family though, that has stayed with me
- there are certain MENA problems that are just so interesting and so infuriating. The politicization of religion, the radicalism, the weak states, that inner strife.

====================
I swear, I will write a review for this cause I have a lot to say. For now, very late but it turns out I still enjoy oversharing online so:
Israeli-Palestinian Conference Adventures

- Palestinians asked us if we believe Palestine is a state and then promptly got into a heated debate amongst themselves. Because really, is this it? Is this what the State of Palestine looks like?

- The gap between the city and the village was never more apparent than in the moment where a guy living in Ramallah was confidently saying the PA is a state and two guys from small villages were just shaking their heads vehemently.

- After hearing extensively about Dutch antisemitism by a very lovely Dutch woman, I kindly said, "your antisemitism isn't my problem anymore". She was shocked but it just isn't. I won't move into Europe for you to become better people. I don't care if you're ignorant about Jews (you are) or if you're confused about the Jewish connection to Israel. Jews spent centuries worrying about European antisemitism and I am thrilled to be privileged enough to not care. Wanna fix European antisemitism? Take up initiative. It is your responsibility to make Europe a friendly place for Jews if you wish for Jews to come back. It’s not mine.

- Shopping used to be a nightmare, a time for me to beat myself down. It is remarkable that I can genuinely enjoy it now, my clothes are personal jokes I have with myself and my body is an excellent body. I regret every moment that I wasted believing that my body is inherently flawed.

- he said, "of course we're winning. If these are the only options, it's better to be the occupier than the occupied", but perhaps I am an Ashkenazi Jew before I'm a Zionist because I can't agree. It is always always better to experience a Holocaust than to commit one, this is what we were taught in my home.

- The weird part of speaking so much and so openly throughout the conference is that people, complete strangers, acted as though they know me. Like nope, you're a random person eavesdropping, as far as I'm concerned, I do not know you. And in the same breath, it's flattering and it's humbling to see that my words and thoughts can make people feel like we're friends. It is overwhelming to have strangers approach you and thank you. It’s remarkable to have people mention your stories, chat about your thoughts.

- "everything would be solved if Palestine took part in Eurovision."

- If you are an international who wishes to engage in Israeli-Palestinian politics, I believe you need to first spend a sufficient amount of time with two communities from your own country: the people who disagree with ideologically the most and the victims of your country. If you haven't done any form of reconciliation with those hurt by your state, I don't trust you. If you've never sat down and seriously listened to the people who you politically oppose, I don't trust you. I've seen wars in my lifetime and you are asking me to reach out to the other side. I'll gladly do it because it's my civilian obligation but I dare you to do it too. Don't just tell me I'm brave and inspiring, show me you understand what I'm doing. Show me you have any idea what this takes in your own (conflict-less?) society.

- Every form of nationalism is, by definition, discriminatory. The question is where we draw the line. Every country with border laws is committing an apartheid against refugee seekers (separate laws for equal people), if that's the game we want to play. Which level of exclusionary laws is too much?

- There is very little that makes me as happy as being told by several Palestinians that they appreciate my opinions, that they wish more Israelis would be like me. I'm still a Zionist and I'm still a proud Israeli, still a proud Jew and yet, I really do believe it is possible to find that middle ground of being aware of the situation and never forgetting yourself. Dialogue has made my world bigger but it has not changed it. It has not made me hate anyone. I am so grateful to everyone who has ever taken the time to expand my perspective.

- They kept saying that we're brave but I'm not brave. I'm angry. I am motivated by wanting to slam my head against the wall, empowered by my sheer frustration. This is not bravery, this is desperation.

- We did Israeli-Palestinian trivia. I got every single question about Palestinians right while they got most questions about Israelis wrong. And yes, it is true that I am a politics nerd who doesn't really represent the average Israeli but I have spent months feeling like I understand Palestinian society better than they understand my society and it felt like such a relief to see tangible proof.

- And it's wild- I've never set foot in anywhere legally considered under Palestine and I can describe a Palestinian wedding while they have studied in Israeli universities and they cannot tell us who is obligated to serve in the army (shoutout to the guy who mentioned the Southern Lebanon Army though, I didn't know that some of them were given Israeli citizenship).

- We did a q&a while drunk and it was lovely to see how blunt and silly we became after each glass of wine. Like yeah, we're talking about very serious issues but our faces are flushed and we're laughing and I don't want this moment to end

- People talk a lot about the power imbalance but not the democracy imbalance. Israel is, at the end of the day, a democracy. I can stand in the middle of the street and shout whatever I want and I have never ever feared physical repercussions from the state. But as we referred to it, Palestinians live in a fucking dictatorship. And in a fucking dictatorship, you can't. In a fucking dictatorship, you have nothing. The Palestinian law is not on your side, the Palestinian state systems are not on your side, the institutions are not on your side. As he said, “I am a little ant, carrying the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian dictatorship”.

- And this was the first time I recognized just how much I admire Palestinians who do dialogue. It is heartbreaking to look at these brilliant, intelligent and kind people and realize that they have nothing. No political say, no freedom of expression, no true voice, no foreseeable plan for a better future, no space to speak up about these things and change them. And I cannot fix it, I cannot singlehandedly make this better.

- Israel's presence obscures the very real governance issue. It is a scapegoat and it is truly to blame but we must address the dysfunction in the room either way. And us, the Israelis, kept asking Palestinians what they intend to do so that the Palestinian state won't be an oppressive one. Is the Israeli military occupation really worth ending if you're going to find yourself governed by an equally oppressive Palestinian entity? I want our army out of there because we are committing crimes but what will happen to you afterwards? How can you not be worried?

- We were four Israelis, including a British Jew and one Irish participant. Us Israelis suggested naming our group the British Mandate. Suffice to say, this didn't go down very well.

- A Dutch guy said to me, "you seem like a clever and thoughtful person, how could you do army service?". This is exactly the condescension that makes Israelis aggressive.

- Them going, "could you speak in the end ceremony? We'd appreciate it if you didn't say, "it's a fucked up reality" as you said during dialogue today?"

- And holy shit, I did speak and I rambled and I know it wasn't my best public speaking (I lost my train of thought in the middle and wanted to die) but it was super exciting for me to publicly speak about these issues in front of an audience and I got so many heartwarming compliments ("you didn't say "um" once, that's incredible")

- We asked each other what not playing the game looks like. What does it look like when we no longer think strategically about the conflict? When we don't try to wield it so we'll end up on the winning side? Can it be? Is there a way to quit the game?

- These Europeans have such beautiful naivety. I wish I could live in a world where I believed Israelis and Palestinians meeting would solve problems. I wish seeing Israelis and Palestinians hug would make me believe in peace. I wish I could speak about peace as though it is a tangible and physical concept.

- As much as I complain, I also finished with gratitude for the internationals that were there. I have spent so long looking for ulterior motives that it did not occur to me people could volunteer to engage with this simply because they want to do something kind for us. Just like that. And despite the many blunders made, I cannot help but deeply respect that.

- And we, Israelis, have the audacity to look at Palestinians and ask them to fight their dictatorship, to get out there in droves, to revolt, to die, to martyr themselves, a thousand Nizar Binats, a million injuries. I do not think we fully understand what we're asking.

- Israelis and Palestinians joking about really being racially inferior. The difference between us, with our brown hair, bushy eyebrows, big noses, scrawny looks, short height, and the Dutch, (”she looks like a Barbie”). Obviously, stigmas and stereotypes but it really did stand out how similar we look to each other compared to how we stand out in the Netherlands.

- They said they invited us to the Hague because it is a place for everyone. But it is not because I am never as Jewish as I am in Europe, I cannot stop thinking about the Holocaust, I feel like I am walking on Jewish graves, 80% of the Hague's Jews never came back.

-And it is not equal because my covid pass counts in the Netherlands but the Palestinian one doesn't. It's not equal because no one checked my suitcase in security (yes. I cheerfully said “hello” and asked them how they’re doing, made a few jokes and walked past) while she stripped three times. It's not equal because I wasn't sure if I'm joining the trip but the Palestinians had to because they did the visa months ahead. It's not equal because I walk through the Netherlands and I am entitled. The pride flags make me feel seen and welcome, I do not feel under attack, I do not feel lesser. I have never tried to overcompensate while the Palestinians wear suits and bring their cards. It is so very far from equal.

- And I often feel overwhelming guilt. I won't let it control me, I do not forget that this conflict is not one sided and that civilians should not be punished for the crimes of their leaders but it shocks me that every day, things are terrible. I do not know how to face the reality that we are entrenched in, that damage that grows by the minute. What are we doing?

- We (politely) argued with the manager of Anne Frank's house. There's no kosher food in the café, not even vegan food. We can mourn dead Jews but we won't make the café accessible to living religious Jews. And when we asked why, they said it's too complicated, that it is challenging to do right. I pointed out that that's an opportunity to engage Amsterdam's Jewish community, to support the few Jews still left in Amsterdam. But no- Anne Frank's house is apparently "not a Jewish institution". And I realized that it doesn't matter- nothing Anne Frank's house can do will ever be enough for me. They said she perished, as if she simply died in an accident. In one of the corners, there's a siddur, open to the Shavout prayers. And I recognized the words, Edith Frank and I say the same words. They wrote in small letters that it's a prayer book, didn't explain what it is or how Anne Frank celebrated Shavout. You see, Anne Frank is appealing because she's an immigrant Dutch child, not because she's a Jew. They pointed out that she liked movie stars and dreamed of being a mother without recognizing that it doesn't matter. Anne Frank might have been a bratty child. She might have been spoiled, she might have been obnoxious. The point isn't Anne Frank. It's that 8 Dutch Jews named Benjamin Frank were murdered. It's that 100,000 Dutch Jews were killed and they are a tiny tiny percent of the Jews in the Holocaust in total. This isn't a story of Anne Frank and the book store doesn't sell anything about Jews, just Anne Frank.

- Spilling water on my laptop in the middle of an Indonesian restaurant where no one speaks English.

[Book Shark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart by Scott Anderson

“Fractured Lands” is an interesting, concise set of stories shared by the six protagonists that captures the recent history of how the Arab world came apart. Author and veteran war correspondent Scott Anderson takes the reader on a recent journey that began in 2003 with the American invasion of Iraq and how it unraveled in the form of the Arab Spring. This captivating 242-page includes thirty-seven chapters broken out by the following five parts: I. Origins, II. The Iraq War, III. Arab Spring, IV. ISIS Rising, and V. Exodus.

Positives:
1. A well-written, well-researched book. It’s a concise chronicle of six people who come from different regions of the Middle East and share first hand the unraveling of their lives.
2. A fascinating topic (the unraveling of the Middle East) handled with expertise, fairness and respect.
3. The preface does a good of preparing the reader on what’s to come. “For each of these six people, the upheavals were crystallized by a specific, singular event. For Azar Mirkhan, it came on the road to Sinjar, when he saw that his worst fears had come true. For Laila Soueif in Egypt, it came when a young man separated from a sprinting mass of protesters to embrace her, and she thought she knew the revolution would succeed. For Majdi el-Mangoush in Libya, it came as he walked across a deadly no-man’s-land and, overwhelmed by a sudden euphoria, felt free for the first time in his life. For Khulood al-Zaidi in Iraq, it came when, with just a few menacing words from a former friend, she finally understood that everything she had worked for was gone. For Majd Ibrahim in Syria, it came when, watching an interrogator search his cell phone for the identity of his “controller,” he knew his own execution was drawing nearer by the moment. For Wakaz Hassan in Iraq, a young man with no apparent interest in politics or religion, it came on the day ISIS gunmen showed up in his village and offered him a choice.”
4. Describes what sets of the Arab Spring. “THE EVENT CREDITED with setting off the Arab Spring could hardly have been more improbable: the suicide by immolation of a poor Tunisian fruit-and-vegetable seller in protest over government harassment. By the time Mohamed Bouazizi succumbed to his injuries on January 4, 2011, the protesters who initially took to Tunisia’s streets calling for economic reform were demanding the resignation of the nation’s strongman president of twenty-three years, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.”
5. Keen observations. “While most of the twenty-two nations that make up the Arab world have been buffeted to some degree by the Arab Spring, of the six most profoundly affected—Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen—none are monarchies. All are republics. Might this reveal inherent fault lines in the structure of Arab republics? Put another way, as corrupt and repressive as many of the Arab monarchies are, could it be that they withstood the pressures of the Arab Spring because of a kind of internal tribal compact that some of their republican neighbors lacked?”
6. A look at the instability of the Middle East and what’s behind it. “In Mesopotamia, the British joined together three Ottoman vilayets and named it Iraq. The southernmost of these provinces was dominated by Shiite Arabs, the central by Sunni Arabs, and the northernmost by non-Arab Kurds.”
7. Interesting history. “While very few in the West appreciated the significance at the time, the creation of the Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, marked the first dismantling of the colonial borders that had been imposed on the region seventy-five years earlier, the de facto partition of one of the Middle East’s artificial nations. Naturally, the effect of this would be most profoundly felt in Iraq. A country with a scant sense of national identity to begin with now stood divided. What’s more, by effectively removing the 17 percent non-Arab Kurdish population from the Iraqi demographic pool, the minority status of its Arab Sunni rulers had deepened in those portions of Iraq that remained, while the majority status of its marginalized Shiites had increased. In just this way, in 1992, the West had helped construct a sectarian time bomb liable to go off if ever Saddam Hussein lost his grip on power.”
8. A look at Iraqi customs. ““My father was very progressive in a lot of ways,” she explained, “but even with him, going to college was never about my having a professional career. Instead, it was always the idea of ‘Study hard, get a degree, but then find a husband and go into the house.’ ” She shrugged. “This was the Iraqi system.””
9. The American invasion of Iraq and how it laid the groundwork for Arab Spring revolts. “In the meantime, the American intervention in Iraq continued to have an unsettling effect in the region, in the form of a growing public disenchantment with its Western-allied leaders and a growing militancy among traditional Islamists.”
10. The explosive outcome of the revolts. “It was as if gasoline had been thrown on a smoldering fire. That night, tens of thousands of demonstrators took over Clock Tower Square in downtown Homs, and this time, the police and shabiha took to the roofs and upper floors of the surrounding buildings to shoot down at them. “That is when everything changed,” Majd said. “Where before it was protests, from April 17 it was an uprising.”” “That instability was made painfully clear to the Obama administration when the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi was attacked in September 2012, leading to the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others.”
11. Fair treatment of presidents Bush and Obama. “Precisely one year before, President Obama had warned the Assad regime of the grave repercussions it would face if it ever employed chemical weapons in the war. Obama had underscored that warning as recently as March 2013, reiterating the “red line” that would be crossed by such an attack, and how it would be a “game changer” as far as the United States’ nonintervention policy in Syria. Within days of the Ghouta attack, a United Nations inspection team determined that the estimated 1,400 dead had been killed with shells of sarin gas, taken from known Syrian government stockpiles and “most likely” fired from government lines.”
12. A look at the rise of ISIS. “The ISIS offensive of June 2014 marked one of the most stunning military feats in modern history. In less than one week, a lightly armed guerrilla force of as few as five thousand fighters scattered a modern and well-equipped army at least twenty times its size, capturing billions of dollars’ worth of advanced weaponry and military hardware, and now controlled population centers that totaled some five million people.”
13. A look at the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). “For twenty-two years after its creation in 1992, the KRG was a relative oasis of stability and peace in the region, its ties to Baghdad ever more theoretical. That exempt status was most nakedly revealed during the American intervention in Iraq, in which the KRG openly sided with the invaders, providing them with back bases and airfields from which to carry out the fight; as local officials are fond of pointing out, not a single coalition soldier was killed in the KRG during the Iraq War.”
14. Discusses the exodus from the torn region and the implications to the rest of the world. “That discontent had reached a new boiling point amid the migrant crisis in the summer of 2015, when close to a million would-be-refugees had flooded into Europe –the majority from Syria and Iraq, and the majority making for Germany.”
15. An effective epilogue that brings it all together. “That said, I am reminded of something Majd Ibrahim told me: “ISIS isn’t just an organization, it’s an idea.” It is also a kind of tribe, of course, and even if this incarnation is destroyed, the conditions that created ISIS will remain in the form of a generation of disaffected and futureless young men, like Wakaz Hassan, who find purpose and power and belonging by picking up a gun. In sum, nothing gets better anytime soon.””

Negatives:
1. The author could have improved the reading experience by assisting readers better follow the protagonists. The book jumps from one story to the next and it’s hard to follow which protagonist the author is referring to. Visual cues would have helped, such as a recurring photo and perhaps even a timeline at the beginning of each chapter.
2. Lacks visual supplementary material. There is some included but it merited a lot more. A timeline would have been appreciated; maps and tables depicting the major tribes and religious groups would have benefitted the reader.
3. It’s a real challenge to comprehensively capture the Arab Spring in around 200 pages. The book in my view was too simplified.
4. No notes or sources.

In summary, I enjoyed this book. It’s a different approach to telling a story but it will be a little frustrating for the average layperson to follow. The book chronicles the story of six Middle Eastern lives from different regions and backgrounds and in doing so describes the unraveling of the region from their firsthand experience. Some minor quibbles aside this is a concise way to learn about the recent history of the Middle East. I recommend it.

Further recommendations: “And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East” by Richard Engel, “America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History” by Andrew Bacevich, “War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq” by the same author, “Radical: My Journey out of Islamist Extremism” by Maajid Nawaz, “The United States of Jihad” and “Manhunt” by Peter Bergen, “ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror” by Michael Weiss, “Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS” by Joby Warrick, “ISIS Apocalypse” by William McCants, and “War” by Sebastian Junger.

[Left Coast Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scott Anderson is at his best writing long, thoroughly researched books about hard men doing nasty jobs. He has long had a devoted audience that is finally starting to snowball into well-deserved recognition; an audience who appreciate thorough research, a willingness to tackle complex subject matter, and the ability to tell his story in a novel, interesting way.

I am a fan.

This book is quite a departure, in that it is short, by his standards, and covers so many different topics that each one is described only in its barest outlines. He tells the story of the Arab Spring*, several revolutions that occurred in rapid succession in the Middle East and North Africa, by focusing on the stories of six individuals in Libya, Egypt, the Kurdish part of Iraq and Syria. The essential problem is that the book is much too short to do these people justice, let alone explain all the events happening around them that have led to the utter destruction of Syria, bankruptcy of Egypt and other unforeseen outcomes.

Don't get me wrong -- I learned an enormous amount, and Anderson really knows what he's talking about in that part of the world. He treats Bush's decision to invade Iraq and Obama's decision not to intervene when Assad started gassing his own citizens with equal condemnation. (Generally, the U.S. does not come off well in this book.) It is perhaps the best thing you can say about a book when you conclude with: I wish it were longer.

*(It's been six years, and I'm still thoroughly pissed off at the self-congratulatory, preening dweebs in Silicon Valley who referred to the revolution in Egypt as the "Twitter Revolution." Yes, people used Twitter to communicate. No, they did not revolt because they suddenly had this great ability to sent tweets to each other. Morons.)

[John Mackey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rented this book from the library to read on my France and Africa trip.

Excellent read. Anderson provides exceptional insight into the origins of the Arab Spring and the rise of ISIS through the lens of individuals from across the Middle East. His commentary on how the United States’ invasion of Iraq played a major role in these events provided me with a new understanding of how appalling our decision to invade Iraq really was. The stories of the people intertwined into the commentary provided a unique and compelling narrative of how these conflicts affect real people.

I look forward to reading more from Scott Anderson in the future. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about the tribal dynamics of the Middle East and how the United States invasion of Iraq played a major role in Middle Eastern conflicts from the 2000s to present.

[Pankaj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unlike journalists like Robert Fisk, who have spent decades in the Middle East to learn the language(s), customs and cultures, assimilating within while reporting without, the Andersons of the journalism world spend 18 months writing a "tweet" sized, sanitized version of the histories of the many countries that make up this complex world. A passing mention of the Western world's transgressions while laying the blame on local, corrupt leaders most of whom were put in place and supported by America and/or Britain/Italy/France. The book recounts how ISIS occupied the Iraqi oilfields turning on the spigots of oil to turn them into money-spinning geysers but fails to detail how this was carried out under the watchful eyes of omnipresent American drones blanketing the skies above.
I gave it two stars out of respect for the humans that make up Anderson's proteges, although his writing has reduced them to mere caricatures.

[Amy Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fractured Lands is a riveting and intense read, focusing on the lives of six people in very different circumstances across the Middle East, breaking their stories into chunks of time. In focusing on an overarching subject through the six stories, the thematic elements of uncertainty and sectarianism in the Middle East kept me interested, although perhaps wishing for a more in-depth look into the lives of these people and their countries. However, I appreciate that an in-depth analysis would perhaps go against the point of the book to create comparison and contrast between these people's experiences. Being several thousand miles away from the Middle East, it's easy for Americans, including myself, to lose the human factor when contemplating events such as the Arab Spring - this book brings it back sharply in focus. I also really respect that the author leaves the epilogue in ambiguity, a fitting ending. As Majdi el-Mangoush says, "the future is full of uncertainty, but so was the past."

[Jeff Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think everyone should read this book if you want to try to come to an understanding on how the Middle East is a disrupted ("fractured") political area in our world. The narrative is through the telling of six individuals involved with six of the countries (Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya and a person from Kurdistan -- not really a country at present) and it provides meaning to what happened in the historical context from the points of view of these six individuals. It also provides additional narrative explaining the complex (and often quite uncomplimentary) history of the United States with the countries in that region -- it calls the question about whether or not our country's leaders really understood the impact and implications of their actions and would they have made the decisions they made if they had really known what would have happened. The lessons from what has happened in the Middle East have some eerie similarities to what is presently going on in this country with our tribal factions and the shifting coalitions amongst them.

[Aishwarya Ketkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to the Arab world, this book has been gently agonizing while putting together pieces of history completing a logical puzzle. Scott Anderson and Paolo Pellegrin did an excellent job identifying the motives and covering different perspectives in the equation. On a philosophical level, ideologies that threaten the fabric of this society will exist as long as discontented and futureless youngsters find a meaning to life by picking up a gun. External forces capable of controlling them will fall short as long as there is a human tendency to plead the self-interest card. Taking it a step further, finding meaning in violence is capable of exacerbating with the rise of automation if human role in an automated society is not dealt with delicately, since income struggle always comes down to power and violence is a means to that end. Overall, this book provoked me to think through unorthodox lens at a deep philosophical level, making it a great baseline for other books on the Middle East.

[Abhi Gupte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fractured Lands is an anthology of how the Arab world came apart for 6 representative individuals. Anderson does not dive too deep into the why. At first, this seemed like a major omission from the author who gave us the definitive account of the creation of the modern Middle East in "Lawrence in Arabia". But Anderson's focus on his 6 protagonists ensures that we see the world through their eyes and not through the abstract impersonal lens of geo-political analysis.

The stories are gut-wrenching and Anderson's pain at having witnessed these seeps through the pages. The structure of the book seems logical - it's broken into chronological phases, each phase tracing the journeys of each of the protagonists. However, besides the common themes, the events or even the causes behind the events don't really match. For eg. After 2014, Libya fractures into anarchy, Sisi imposes an even more repressive regime in Egypt, the refugee crisis erupts in Syria and ISIS emerges in Iraq. Anderson doesn't connect these except through the thin thread of chronology. Thus, the fundamental promise of the book - to have a single explanation for the Arab Spring and it's aftermath - seems unfulfilled.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information presented in this book points out the complexities of life in a number of the Arab countries in the Middle East, however, I found the audiobook format of the book less than ideal. The author, Scott Anderson, has a wealth of experience and information, but in audiobook format, it became difficult for me to follow. That's because Anderson ​weaves his story through the lives of six individuals from six different Middle East countries as parallel stories, rather than telling them one at a time. Rather than telling each of the six stories from start to finish, sequentially, he started talking about one person, then the next, and then the next, and would loop continually again and again telling a small part of each story before coming back to that person again. Being somewhat unfamiliar with Middle Eastern names and places, many sounded very similar to me, and without benefit of actually seeing the words in print, the stories became somewhat muddled to me. I'd suggest picking this book up in print format vs. audio for most readers, or paying much closer attention to the spoken word than I was able to do.

​What I did get out of the book that each of the six individuals included has gone through a series of horrific changes over the past ten or fifteen years​. The countries included were ​Egypt, Libya, Syria, ​Iraq, and the ​Iraq's ​Kurdish region​, each of which has seen huge upheavals in recent years. Anderson shows how individuals in each of those countries are affected by sharing the stories of ​six individuals, one ​a student, an air force cadet, a physician, an activist, a day-laborer, and a family matriarch. Each were affected in different ways, the only commonality is the hardship each endured. We've heard a lot about ​the compatant soldiers​ in these countries, but little about how the lives of individuals living in these countries in turmoil are affected. Anderson gives us a look behind the scenes and shows what life is like for ​these individuals, and how they're coping with the situation on the ground. ​
​

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully informative book showing the changes in the Arab world (Middle East and N. Africa) in early 2000s (U.S. invasion of Iraq, Arab Spring) through the stories of six individuals (in Egypt, Libya, Kurdish physician, Syria, Iraq, Iraq).

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m interested in the people interviewed but not the format and way the author writes them. He translates them but the writing makes reading a chore.

[Manisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook.

Interesting! But it got a little boring towards the end.

[Tawney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book compliments of Anchor Books through the Goodreads First Reads Program.

There are layers of fractures in the Arab world, some dating back hundreds of years. Scott Anderson gives a succinct explanation of the problems created by the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Nations were created with little regard to ethnic, tribal and religious divisions among the population. This was especially true of Iraq and Syria both of which were held together by dictatorships, as was Libya and Egypt. While the revolts of the Arab Spring succeeded in ousting the strongmen, they were unable to establish less authoritarian governments. Anderson describes the escalating tensions, revolts and aftermath of the Iraq War, Arab Spring, rise of ISIS in both political and human terms. He follows six people from the area and their stories are very personal and individual. Some were never political or religious and only wanted a decent life, others had agendas they had been working toward for years. No matter what country, each of these people experienced upheavals in their personal lives. They have seen countries, coalitions, allies, tribes and families broken to the point that is hard to grasp.

Scott Anderson has written about such a complicated subject and shown so much of the various ways the fractures affect the area and included well limned portraits of individuals in just over 200 pages. That certainly impressed me.

[Mary Overton]

One glimpse into the consequences of war:
Khulood al-Zaidi is an Iraqi women’s rights activist, now in refugee-limbo. Jordan, where her life has stalled, will not allow her to become a legal resident. Her story makes it obvious that she is a capable, energetic, selfless person, “Possessed of a seemingly unconquerable will.” But the random bad luck of having been born in the the wrong place, in the wrong time shuts her inside a suffocating box. “Only once” writes the interviewer, “did this brave facade crack.” Khulood admitted, “‘… but, really, let’s be candid …. For me, these past nine years have been wasted. My sisters and I, we have dreams. We are educated, we want to study, to have careers. But in Jordan we cannot legally work, and we cannot leave, so we are just standing in place. That’s all. Now we’re becoming old, we’re all in our 30s, but still we can’t marry or start families because then we will never get out of here. … I’m sorry. I try to never pity myself to to blame anyone for this situation …’” (41)

Multiply by millions the number of people with her dashed hopes for a “normal” life, and that despair creates a cloud that darkens the world. We are all hurt by it, both directly and indirectly.

[Nabat · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب #سرزمین‌های_تکه‌تکه حاصل روایت‌هایی است که اسکات اندرسون خبرنگار نیویورک تایمز طی ۱۸ ماه سفر در خاورمیانه نوشته است. ۶ شخصیتِ واقعی از مصر و لیبی و سوریه و عراق و اقلیم کردستان عراق، شخصیت‌های اصلی این روایت مبسوط اویند. اندرسون طی این ۱۸ ماه با این افراد گفتگو کرده است و زندگی‌ آن‌ها را در پنج بخش خاستگاه، جنگ عراق، بهار عربی، ظهور داعش و مهاجرت دسته‌جمعی در کتاب آورده است. در هر بخش کتاب زندگی این افراد را در زمان‌های یکسان موازی با یکدیگر دنبال می‌کنیم و در متن این زندگی‌ها، وقایعی که در کشورهایشان جاری بود را در ملموس ترین قرائت ممکن_از زبان شهروندان و فعالین‌شان از یک عراقی داعشی تا یک فعال سیاسی لیبیایی و تا یک فرمانده‌ی کُرد_می‌خوانیم.
اسکات اندرسون نقطه‌ی شروع همه‌ی ناآرامی‌های منطقه را حمله آمریکا به عراق در سال۲۰۰۳ می‌داند، لذا شروع روایت‌ها از همین زمان است و روایت تاثیراتِ غیربومی نیروهای ائتلاف بر جامعه عراق و ادامه‌ی ماجراها در باقی کشورها.
فرم کتاب جذاب و حیرت انگیز و پرکشش بود، این سبک پرداخت به چنین موضوعاتی واقعا کم است. البته همچنان آن نگاهی که یک انسان غربی سرش را به سمت راست می‌چرخاند و ما شرقی ها را می‌بیند در لایه لایه‌ی این داستان خودش را نشان میدهد و حتی آزاردهنده‌است. هرچند اندرسون تقریبا تمام تلاشش را کرده است که بی طرف روایت کند.
پ.ن: مطلقا هیچ ردپایی از ایران در کتاب نمی‌بینیم.
پ.ن۲: همچنان سرنوشت مصر برای ما عبرت‌انگیز و حیرت‌انگیز است.

[N Rizkalla · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of the Arab Spring told through the eyes of liars, killers, traitors and plain terrorists!

What does Anderson want us to conclude? To sympathize with a serial killer who beheads because of a nice salary from the Islamic State claiming it is not for religion? Or to believe a series of lies of a woman who just want to exploit the people and countries which give her shelter- she seems somehow to love the dog of the family which sheltered her but not a mention about the people! Or to accept a self-announced politician which prides her self of casting her vote to a terrorist organization (Muslim Brotherhood) with no consideration of the devastation and peril that will bring to her country. Should we make a hero an officer who betrays his army to save his neck?

Yes, the Arab Spring is a failure, and more so if we are going to sacrifice all principals in the name of a delusional democracy!

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

چیزی که برام جالبه درباره این کتاب و گزارشها و تحلیلهای مشابه از این دست، گزارشگران آمریکایی و اروپای غربی هستند که اینقدر بیطرف اتفاقات این چند دهه اخیر در خاورمیانه و عواملی دخیل در این خیزشها و جنگ‌افروزیها را به رشته تحریر در میاورند . بیطرفی و واقع بینی که متاسفانه بخاطر خیلی از اختلافات قبیله‌ای، قومی و غیره ، ما مردمان اهالی خاورمیانه را از نوشتن تاریخ معاصر عاجز میکنه. خوندن این کتاب به روشن شدن خیلی از ابهامات و سوالاتی که درباره بهار عربی و سرپانشدن کشورهای عراق و لیبی داشتم روشن کرد. و البته که چقدر اطلاعات این کتاب میتونه برای ما ایرانیها که جزی از خاورمیانه هستیم و‌ از لحاظ فرهنگی، تاریخی و دینی نقاط مشترکی با این کشورهای جنگ‌زده داریم آگاهی بخش باشه. بعد از خوندن کتاب هم یک جستجویی تو اینترنت کردم و متوجه شدک که سایت آسو ترجمه کتاب رو به فارسی برای خوانندگان فارسی زبان بصورت مجانی گذاشته.

[Dick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ordered this book the same day i finished Lawrence of Arabia, because i want to continue reading Scott's work. Again it exceeded all my expectation. This is a powerful piece of war journalism. Scott chronologically tells the story of six individuals and how the recent events in Middle East altered the course of their lives completely. I have read a lot of materials about the topic, but never had I truly grasped the stunning realities of this geopolitical tragedy. A few times I had to take a pause before continuing and I had nightmare between the nights. The seed of this catastrophe has long been sown, even Scott attempted to end this book with a positive tone I am no less pessimistic than I was before in the future of this fractured land.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense, brutal, and deep. This long New York Times Magazine article follows six middle eastern citizen's lives from the 1970's to the present day, interweaving personal moments and political scenes. These people were present, or nearby Tahrir Square, Benghazi, Homs, and something horrible called the Camp Speicher massacre. A worthy read, if you're interested in getting another perspective on the Middle East.

[Akash Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal and meticulous way of describing the conflict in terms of tribal delineations instead of just ideology. Also how each region in the Middle East has their own set of issues with dictatorships and which method they use to address the issue, whether through progressive politics or regressive ones.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm counting this for 2016 because it was essentially a short book. Depressing and enlightening, soul-stirring, etc. 11/10

[Wedma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Buch erzählt über die Krise in der arabischen Welt aus der Perspektive der „kleinen“ Leute, die von dort aus stammen: z.B. aus dem Irak, Syrien, Libyen, Ägypten, Kurdistan. Diese persönlichen Geschichten wurden abwechselnd, nach Themen und Zeiten geordnet, erzählt.
5 Teile hat das Buch:
Teil I: Die Ursprünge 1972-2003
Teil II: Der Irakkrieg: 2003-2011
Teil III: Der arabische Frühling 2011-2014
Teil IV: Der Aufstieg des IS 2014-2015
Teil V: Exodus 2015-2016.
Die Teile sind in 4-16 Kapitel aufgeteilt. Diese sind kurz, sachlich und griffig geschrieben, was dazu verleitet, stets ein nächstes Kapitel aufzuschlagen. Es gibt s/w Fotos von den erzählenden Personen, auch Bilder von den Straßen, zerstörten Gebäuden vor Ort, etc.
Diese Menschen im Nahen Osten, die man im Teil I kennenlernt, erzählen ihre Geschichten und somit die ihrer Familie und insg. ihrer Länder bis zum Ende weiter. Es war spannend zu lesen, was ihnen im Laufe der Zeit passierte, wie sie es empfunden haben, wie sich die polit. Lage änderte, welche Probleme kamen dazu, was die einfachen Leute über ihre Regierungen dachten, was sie dagegen taten, etc. Es gibt z.B. gleich im Kap. 1 die Geschichte von Laila Soueif. Sie, ihr Mann und später die Kinder waren aktive Regierungsgegner und demonstrierten oft auf den Straßen. Hier wurden einige Hintergrundinfos hinzugefügt, die z.B. erklären, wie es dazu kam, dass das Volk in Ägypten, wie auch die Soueifs, „Nassers autokratischen Regierungsstil verabscheuten“ und auch später gegen Mubarak protestierten, u.a. weil er gern und regelmäßig Geld von USA nahm, und sonst nicht so viel für besseres Leben im Land tat. Bei diesen Berichten las man hin und wieder, je nach Land und seinen Problemen, von anti-amerikanischer Einstellung der Menschen.
Auch weitere Personen, wie z.B. eine Frauenaktivistin aus Syrien, die zwar später, beim ausgebrochenen Krieg, in die USA auswandern konnte, ging aber wieder zurück nach Jordanien, um sich um die kranken Eltern zu kümmern, da ihre Familie dorthin geflohen war. Diese Frau, wie auch weitere junge Leute, „trifft“ man auch später. So entwickeln sich ihre dramatischen Lebensgeschichten vor Augen der Leser. Man kann sich in ihre Situationen hineinversetzen, die Ausweglosigkeit ist manchmal mit Händen zu greifen, ihre oft tragischen Schicksale quasi hautnah. Manche von den geschilderten Personen landeten am Ende in Deutschland, Österreich, manche blieben vor Ort, manche sind gar in benachbarten Ländern zum Tode verurteilt, etc. Auch die nationalen Konflikte, wie die in Kurdistan, oder auch im Irak insg., die Ansätze der Problemlösungen, wie sie manche Kenner vor Ort vorschlagen, findet man ebenso im Buch. Man sieht dabei v.a., wie komplex die Verhältnisse sind. Und eins ist klar: Einfache Lösungen kann es nicht geben, schon allein weil vieles nach dem Prinzip des Fluches der bösen Tat läuft: Eine böse Tat zieht unweigerlich die nächste nach sich, die noch brutaler ausfällt, etc. So entstand eine Abwärtsspirale, die heute kaum einer stoppen kann, und viele Landschaften liegen in Trümmern.
Manches in diesem Buch war mir auch eher negativ aufgefallen: Es gibt keine Quellen. Auch bei den Schilderungen der allg. Lage nicht. Z.B. wurde der Giftgasangriff mit Sarin in Ghouta, Syrien, von Leitmedien hüben wie drüben gern Assad in Rechnung gestellt. Die kritischen Quellen widersprechen diesen Ausführungen und begründen dies. Näheres dazu z.B. in „Die den Sturm ernten“ von Michael Lüders und „Illegale Kriege“ von Daniel Ganser. Zu den Prinzipien, wie die Leitmedien funktionieren: „Lügen die Medien?“ von Jens Wernicke.

Die persönlichen Schicksale erscheinen recht stichhaltig und glaubhaft. Sie stammen von den Begegnungen des Autors vor Ort und später aus den Meldungen der beschriebenen Personen aus jew. Ländern.
Insg. ließ sich die Anhänglichkeit an die Linie der Leitmedien recht deutlich wahrnehmen. Kein Wunder, denn der Autor wurde vom Chefredakteur des New York Times Magazine zu einer Reportage über die Krise im Nahen Osten beauftragt. Der wesentliche Teil dieses Buches war dort in 2016 erschienen.

Fazit: Ein Buch, das die Krise im Nahen Osten aus der Perspektive der „kleinen Leute“ schildert und noch paar erklärende Hintergrundinfos liefert. Als erste Annäherung an das Thema kann es gute Dienste leisten.

[Peter Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Arab spring of 2011 was as unexpected as it became unpredictable in it’s manifestation across most of the countries impacted directly, and to an extent to those also impacted indirectly in the wider middle east and north African regions.

With the benefit of hindsight now in 2023, this work will most likely be read as an historical record of the author’s interactions across the region between 2012 and its publication in 2016, I however endeavored to engage at two levels, that of now in Nov ‘23 and as a publication date when the outcomes were unknown and at best a bold prediction of what might come.

I am very pleased to say that to this reader, both perspectives stood up across what was a remarkable work of its time and now, with the benefit of hindsight, is a well posed and written firsthand historical record.

Personally, having only spent a relatively small amount of a half year, now many years ago, traversing as an independent traveler through Turkey, Syrian Jordon, Palestine, Israel and Egypt it is a region I fell mostly in love with and a myriad to different people to whom in the majority I felt the same. hence it is with genuine sorrow that I read many parts of this work. Upon others, I could not help but perhaps have a slight, if not decade aged insight, into why some things may have occurred, for unfortunately the drivers if anything were more engrained, more manifest than when I saw them and I can only but begin to wonder why some things occurred took as long to occur as they did. Have. Are Still. Yet that in it's own very nature is in both the make up and the historical nature of the region in itself. One that continues in places to tear it's modern self apart.

If you are interested into some of the drivers, in some of the places of outright conflict brought on by the Araba Spring as told and shared through firsthand accounts of why some states in the regions descended into the absolute chaos that they did, then this could be a work of interest for you. It is reported, told, in a non biased manner, without predacious or positioning by the author and to my eye reflects accurately the experiences and stories that his subjects sought to tell.

An excellent work, not available in my local library system, but attainable with a little effort and international postage, if your library does not have it either.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

American journalist Anderson provides an overview of recent events in the Middle East through the personal stories of six individuals from Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Libya. Anderson suggests that the current unraveling of key Arab states began with the invasion of Iraq in 2003. But he begins his reporting with the political evolution of the region from the early 1970s and the political awakening that took place in Egypt five years after the devastating Six-Day War with Israel; to the Arab Spring of 2011, and to the early successes of the Islamic State in 2014.
There is the Egyptian woman Laila Soueif, whose political activism dates back nearly 50 years and provides perspective on the twists and turns of reform efforts. Next is Dr. Azar Mirkhan, a Kurdish doctor and pesh merga warrior whose view of the world was forever altered when he saw the devastation on the road to Sinjar perpetrated by ISIS. Majdi el-Mangoush of Libya felt free for the first time in his life when Gaddafi was killed. From just a few menacing words from a former friend, Iraqi Khulood al-Zaidi knew that everything that she had worked for was gone. As he watched his interrogator search through his cell phone contacts, Syrian Majd Ibrahim knew that his execution was imminent. As for Wakaz Hassan, an Iraqi youth with no apparent interest in either politics or religion found himself making a ‘choice’ when ISIS gunmen showed up on his doorstep.
Anderson observes that when faced with chaos and violence, the inhabitants are first loyal to their tribe, then religious sect, and finally to their national identity. And there are a LOT of tribes in the region that date back hundreds of years. Highly readable account of a complicated area of the world.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting view on the currents and changes bin the Middle East since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

The book starts clearly with a conversation about the creation of the “states” of the Middle East” after World War I. Cultures dominated primarily by identity based on tribe, clan and subclan were ignored and nations were created with no real joining factor. Even the leaders were often from nowhere near the nation and had no relationship to its people. Libya, Iraq and Syria were perhaps the three with the least unifying factors.

Scott Anderson looks at the events after 2003 through the lens of six individuals.
- a Libyan air force cadet
- an Egyptian mathematics professor and matriarch of a prominent dissident family
- a Syrian college student
- an Iraqi day laborer
- an Iraqi women's rights activist
- a Kurdish medical doctor

Their stories are interesting and often riveting. The Iraqi day laborer joins ISIS, not out of any religious imperative but for economic and social reasons.

The Kurdish doctor is a Peshmerga warrior. But while fighting their enemies, the two Kurdish factions take time to fight and kill each other.

The complexities and nuances of the Middle East are shown through these stories.

I only give 3 stars because the author chose ton tell these six stories going back and forth between the individuals. I sometimes felt lost, unfamiliar cities and I couldn't remember that Majdi was from Libya and Majd from Syria. I think a linear organization would have made this far more clear

[Uwe Hook · Rating 4 out of 5]

No region has been more fractious and dangerous over the past 60 years than the Middle East. As an area that is the confluence of important issues relating to religion, world politics and the ever-present exercise of military power, an abundant fount of crucial strategic resources such as oil, even as a laboratory for increasingly important challenges such as the management of water rights, the Middle East is now and has been for decades a serious source of contentiousness. Scott Anderson addresses the importance of these issues and others in a slender, easy-to-read book written for the general reader.

He focuses on six individuals from the Middle East and North Africa and by relating their life stories, he crystallizes the problems facing the region. The six are from Egypt, Libya, a Kurd, a Syrian, and two Iraqis. Through their eyes and their stories Anderson highlights some of the most significant and worrisome issues that have arisen in recent history: especially the whirlwind of violence that followed the ill-fated and ill-conceived invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the hopeful "Arab Spring" anti-government uprisings in 2011.

All six stories are fascinating and moving but the whole book feels to short. However, it makes the reader more interested in getting more engaged and informed in the Middle East.

[Lisa May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Anderson führt in Kurzfassung die historischen Faktoren auf "die für ein Verständnis der gegenwärtigen (Nahost) Krise von großer Bedeutung sind". Neben der Teilung in die bekannten Staaten geht es vor allem um die Intervention der USA im Irak und die daraus resultierenden Folgen die Jahre später heftigst zu spüren sind. Neben interessanten Interview-Auszügen al-Gaddafis, den Anderson gen Oktober 2002 traf, kommen immer wieder sechs Zivilisten zu Wort deren Geschichten uns quer durch das Buch begleiten, immer eng verknüpft an stattgefundene Ereignisse. Ihrer Herkunftsländer/-gebiete: Ägypten, Libyen, Kurdistan, Syrien und Irak. Dazu findet der Leser viele schwarz-weiße Fotografien die gekoppelt mit den Erzählungen der vorkommenden Personen einen sehr emotionalen Bezug herstellen. Dies ist meines Erachtens nach auch der eigentliche Wille hinter diesem Werk - weniger die Vermittlung historischer Aspekte. Diese werden wie erwähnt zufriedenstellend rübergebracht, gehen jedoch nicht sonderlich in die Tiefe. Dennoch weiß der Aufbau des Buches sehr zu gefallen - zum größten Teil aufgrund der Geschichten der zu Wort kommenden Personen. Dies ist wirklich eingängig geschehen und nicht mithilfe von möglicher, bedeutungsschwangerer "Theatralik" wie man zuerst vermuten könnte.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book and it's pretty good. I agree that going into Iraq is the single most important reason for the destabilization of the reason and was a huge mistake on President Bush's part. I really do not like that the author provided his political opinion at the end of the book and is clearly anti-Bush and pro-Obama, the book was factual and opinion-less until the end and this tainted the book in my belief.

The book is broken up into 5 parts covering the history of the Middle East from 1971 to 2017 and does a very good job in doing so. The book follows several individuals from Iraq, Syria, and Libya and in chronological order though jumps from one person & country to another abruptly. One of the people profiled became an ISIS fighter and executed 6 people by shooting them in the back of the head and then is granted asylum in Germany and the author brushes this off as he had no choice or ISIS would have killed him for not doing their bidding.

A really good book that will provide anyone trying to better understand the region a great education and I highly recommend it.

The only reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 4 is because the author inserted political opinions at the end which really turned me off.

[Tascha Folsoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who enjoys learning about history/current society through the narratives of individual people, this is a very worthy read. The distinctions between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds (Barzani and Talabani) are brought into very clear focus here. The factors leading to the conflicts in Libya, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria are clarified without being oversimplified. It would make for a great high school or college read. It's short, well-written but highly accessible. It answers enough questions while raising other interesting ones. His writing invites readers to draw their own conclusions, and he provides a complete enough picture for the reader to do so. I have not read his fiction, but he uses all the show-don't-tell-stuff of fiction in his non-fiction work allowing themes to emerge in a non-didactic form. I also really enjoyed Lawrence in Arabia, his previous book. I would read anything he writes, and I would recommend this to educators to consider as a classroom read for older students. I read and listened to this on an audiobook. He is the narrator of this work, and I always really like it when an author narrates his or her own work. It was a spare yet heartfelt narration style.