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The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria
Is Syria a rogue state? How important is it to the fates of Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Lebanon? Based on unique and extraordinary access to Syria’s President Bashar al-Asad, his circle, and his family, this book tells Syria’s inside story. David W. Lesch presents the essential account of this country and its enigmatic leader at a critical juncture in the history of the Middle East.Syria has been called the crossroads of civilization for millennia. Lately, however, it is a nation more in the crosshairs than the crossroads. From the U.S. perspective, Syria is on the wrong side of history with respect to Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, the global war on terrorism, and the growth of democracy in the Middle East. Bashar al-Asad assumed the presidency in 2000 after the long reign of his father, Hafiz al-Asad, and soon encountered momentous regional and international events. Bashar’s efforts to integrate his country into this changing environment without being coerced have met with some success and some failure. The fate of Syria, very much tied to its young ophthalmologist-turned-president, will profoundly affect what type of Middle East emerges in the near future.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 11, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 8, 2022
It's crazy to think that when this book was written, almost twenty years ago, that Bashar al-Asad, the young, fresh-faced, self-effacing ophthalmologist son of Hafiz al-Asad, was seen as a shining new hope for the Middle East and Syrian politics.
Don't mistake Lesch's positive approach for naivete: he's a good scholar on the Middle East and actually met and hung out with al-Asad the younger for a number of face-to-face interviews. At the time of writing many folks in ME diplomatic and academic circles indulged in the same wishful thinking and without reason. People aren't prophets, of course, so no one then knew what laid in the future, the Arab Spring, the beginnings of the Syrian Civil War, ISIS, and so on.
Forgiving Lesch's lack of clairvoyance, the lay reader will find this an enjoyable read. It's a fine bio of al-Asad, with some good bits on his family background and Syrian politics in general, and the stuff of the direct interviews are nice to read in retrospect. Lesch's prescriptions for Syria come across worse than his likeable portrayal of al-Asad, but again we must forgive his excitement at what was then seen to be a more positive direction for this most awesome of countries.
Don't mistake Lesch's positive approach for naivete: he's a good scholar on the Middle East and actually met and hung out with al-Asad the younger for a number of face-to-face interviews. At the time of writing many folks in ME diplomatic and academic circles indulged in the same wishful thinking and without reason. People aren't prophets, of course, so no one then knew what laid in the future, the Arab Spring, the beginnings of the Syrian Civil War, ISIS, and so on.
Forgiving Lesch's lack of clairvoyance, the lay reader will find this an enjoyable read. It's a fine bio of al-Asad, with some good bits on his family background and Syrian politics in general, and the stuff of the direct interviews are nice to read in retrospect. Lesch's prescriptions for Syria come across worse than his likeable portrayal of al-Asad, but again we must forgive his excitement at what was then seen to be a more positive direction for this most awesome of countries.
December 15, 2015
The New Lion of Damascus fornece um historico sobre a Siria, sua relação com Israel, USA, URSS e os conflitos historicos no Oriente Medio, bem como analisa as semelhancas e diferenças entre os governos de Bashar Assad e seu pai, Hafez. Alguns reviews negativos do livro acusam o autor de ser tendencioso e idolatrar Bashar. Tirando a obvia admiraçao pelo lider sirio ao longo do texto, David Lesch esclarece um ponto fundamental nos paises islamicos, que é o costume tribal de ter no poder uma figura paternalista e um estado forte. Nao têm, os povos árabes, a mesma fixacao que os ocidentais tem em alternancia do poder, sendo o anseio por uma democracia nos moldes ocidentais muito mais propaganda para justificar intervencoes neo-imperiais que desejo daquelas populações.
Bashar é uma figura interessante por ser um oftalmologista que dificilmente seguiria os passos do pai, nao fosse a morte de seu irmao, verdadeiro herdeiro politico de Hafez. Embora o autor tenha sido didatico e feliz ao comparar sua trajetoria nesse sentido com a de Michael Corleone (um filho "civil" obrigado a assumir os "negocios da familia") ao longo do livro é desenvolvida a tese bastante razoavel que Bashar nao herdou automaticamente o posto de mandatario do pais como em uma familia de monarcas, mas sim surgiu talvez como unica solucao do país para ocupar o vacuo causado pela morte do antigo lider. O povo sirio buscava mais que a dita democracia uma sensacao de estabilidade, e Bashar oferecia isso atraves de seu sobrenome, mas ao mesmo tempo que continha a jovialidade que poderia trazer progresso e desenvolvimento economico e tecnologico ao país.
É verdade que em muitos momentos o autor busca justificar quaisquer atos mais "duros" de Bashar e seu pai pela seguranca nacional e vizinhanca problematica da Siria, porem seus argumentos sao convincentes e dificilmente a obra pode ser tratada como mera bajulacao. O aspecto mais negativo do livro é sua desatualizacao, tendo sido lançado em 2005, o que deixa descobertos muitos eventos importantes dos últimos dez anos em solo sirio, motivo pelo qual diminuí uma estrela na avaliacao, de 4 para 3. Uma nova edição seria muito bem vinda. Tirando esse "problema", no geral é um livro interessante sobre a Siria e Bashar, que é um lider sui generis pelo seu passado como médico e as caracteristicas peculiares da Siria. Se o leitor nao tem uma visao maniqueista de que a Siria é uma "rogue nation" e Assad é um "pária genocida retrogrado sanguinario tarado por armas de destruição em massa", ou seja, tem algum senso critico e nao é apenas mais um do gado de manobra, suas pouco mais de 250 paginas valem a leitura.
Bashar é uma figura interessante por ser um oftalmologista que dificilmente seguiria os passos do pai, nao fosse a morte de seu irmao, verdadeiro herdeiro politico de Hafez. Embora o autor tenha sido didatico e feliz ao comparar sua trajetoria nesse sentido com a de Michael Corleone (um filho "civil" obrigado a assumir os "negocios da familia") ao longo do livro é desenvolvida a tese bastante razoavel que Bashar nao herdou automaticamente o posto de mandatario do pais como em uma familia de monarcas, mas sim surgiu talvez como unica solucao do país para ocupar o vacuo causado pela morte do antigo lider. O povo sirio buscava mais que a dita democracia uma sensacao de estabilidade, e Bashar oferecia isso atraves de seu sobrenome, mas ao mesmo tempo que continha a jovialidade que poderia trazer progresso e desenvolvimento economico e tecnologico ao país.
É verdade que em muitos momentos o autor busca justificar quaisquer atos mais "duros" de Bashar e seu pai pela seguranca nacional e vizinhanca problematica da Siria, porem seus argumentos sao convincentes e dificilmente a obra pode ser tratada como mera bajulacao. O aspecto mais negativo do livro é sua desatualizacao, tendo sido lançado em 2005, o que deixa descobertos muitos eventos importantes dos últimos dez anos em solo sirio, motivo pelo qual diminuí uma estrela na avaliacao, de 4 para 3. Uma nova edição seria muito bem vinda. Tirando esse "problema", no geral é um livro interessante sobre a Siria e Bashar, que é um lider sui generis pelo seu passado como médico e as caracteristicas peculiares da Siria. Se o leitor nao tem uma visao maniqueista de que a Siria é uma "rogue nation" e Assad é um "pária genocida retrogrado sanguinario tarado por armas de destruição em massa", ou seja, tem algum senso critico e nao é apenas mais um do gado de manobra, suas pouco mais de 250 paginas valem a leitura.
April 22, 2010
You'll learn a fair amount of Syrian history, but much of it is highly tendentious. Lesch writes this hagiography of Bashar as though he was his royal scribe. He comes across as pathetically sychophantic.
February 19, 2025
it's a wild ride tbh ,if you are seeing bashar from a personal emotional perspective (i doubt people would tbh but anyway) the first chapters gives a glimpse to the boy- young man before the big throne and it is devastating, because you see passion, sincerity and abit of innocence entangled within the eye doctor personality before bassel's death . Sometimes i wish bassel never passed away because he took away the bashar that healed and created a monster which is the famous term used by media to describe bashar as a political figure. He's a tragedy tbh ,not having an option when your father is hafez al assad is just heartbreaking, and i quote from the book"you can't say no to father" .
I really enjoyed the bits that tackled bashar as a child and teen he still has some of his childhood traits such as awkwardness and trying to fit by making jokes which something he usually do in his speeches .
I suspect he's autistic, there was an article that talked about his meltdown pre a meeting and he was given coffee and some anti- anxiety pills, funnily enough,the rebels has found pills in his drawer ,Strips of benzodiazepine anti-anxiety pills .
Generally, he's a dictator but it must be said the cycle of Assad is forever broken and finally gone . bashar disappeared, some says he's dead ,others say he opened a clinic in Russia . Wherever he is .. I'm glad it's over .
Also he's my wife uwu i like how he acts like a lil cat sometimes.my bad forget my weird obsession .
I really enjoyed the bits that tackled bashar as a child and teen he still has some of his childhood traits such as awkwardness and trying to fit by making jokes which something he usually do in his speeches .
I suspect he's autistic, there was an article that talked about his meltdown pre a meeting and he was given coffee and some anti- anxiety pills, funnily enough,the rebels has found pills in his drawer ,Strips of benzodiazepine anti-anxiety pills .
Generally, he's a dictator but it must be said the cycle of Assad is forever broken and finally gone . bashar disappeared, some says he's dead ,others say he opened a clinic in Russia . Wherever he is .. I'm glad it's over .
Also he's my wife uwu i like how he acts like a lil cat sometimes.my bad forget my weird obsession .
May 6, 2014
I have to say that I liked this book much more than some of the other reviewers did. I can only guess that some were turned off by Lesch's honesty regarding the U.S. and its "greatest ally" Israel. He wasn't too harsh, but any criticism is too much for some to bear. As for him writing the book as if he were Assad's "royal scribe", I didn't get that vibe either. Although the last chapter was a bit gushy, there were plenty of times in the book where Lesch criticized Assad's mistakes and discussed ways that his government could change for the better.
In any case, the last chapter can be forgiven to some extent as anyone who enjoys writing knows how difficult it can be to come up with a concise conclusion. I believe that Lesch was very fair in his assessment, and since he actually interviewed many Syrians in the process of writing this book, he rarely came off as the stereotypical white man who claims to know all the solutions to the Middle East's problems. To be honest, this book almost got a perfect rating. It's highly recommended, and less dated than one might think despite the ongoing war in Syria. Definitely check it out.
In any case, the last chapter can be forgiven to some extent as anyone who enjoys writing knows how difficult it can be to come up with a concise conclusion. I believe that Lesch was very fair in his assessment, and since he actually interviewed many Syrians in the process of writing this book, he rarely came off as the stereotypical white man who claims to know all the solutions to the Middle East's problems. To be honest, this book almost got a perfect rating. It's highly recommended, and less dated than one might think despite the ongoing war in Syria. Definitely check it out.
January 25, 2016
Writing in 2005, Lesch tries to give a new view on the regime of Asad, using interviews of him and other regime insiders. This results in a very sharp analysis of the regime and its motivations, but it is handicapped by hagiographic tendencies when describing Asad personally. I believe Lesch' analysis of Syria and the challenges facing it is very well done, but he mischaracterized Asad's role in the regime and the possibile positive influence the man could have on Syria's future. But of course I write that now with the benefit of hindsight.
January 4, 2016
Flattering portrayal of Asaad written before the Syrian Civil War. Although it makes clear that Syria was held together by the Alawite-dominated military, it gives no hint that Asaad could become such a monster.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews