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Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria

Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria

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  • Create Date：2021-11-02 07:52:22
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Nikolaos van Dam
  • ISBN：1784537977
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Summary

Following the Arab Spring， Syria descended into civil and sectarian conflict。 It has since become a fractured warzone which operates as a breeding ground for new terrorist movements including ISIS as well as the root cause of the greatest refugee crisis in modern history。 In this book， former Special Envoy of the Netherlands to Syria Nikolaos van Dam explains the recent history of Syria， covering the growing disenchantment with the Assad regime， the chaos of civil war and the fractures which led to the rise and expansion of ISIS。 Through an in-depth examination of the role of sectarian， regional and tribal loyalties in Syria， van Dam traces political developments within the Assad regime and the military and civilian power elite from the Arab Spring to the present day。

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Reviews

Fuad Karimli ，

Great book - very informative。 Would love an updated version。

J。M。 Hushour ，

More like two and a half stars as it is a work as baffling as its subject。I traveled around Syria during the early Oughts （I was there in April 2003 when the US invaded Iraq of all times！） and it's still one of the best places I've ever been to and certainly populated by the kindest folks I've ever met。 I lament that has now largely been razed to the ground and that some of those nice people are probably dead or at least know someone who is。The Syrian civil war is quite the clusterfuck， even by More like two and a half stars as it is a work as baffling as its subject。I traveled around Syria during the early Oughts （I was there in April 2003 when the US invaded Iraq of all times！） and it's still one of the best places I've ever been to and certainly populated by the kindest folks I've ever met。 I lament that has now largely been razed to the ground and that some of those nice people are probably dead or at least know someone who is。The Syrian civil war is quite the clusterfuck， even by the standards of the Middle East， made much worse， as always by desperate， idealistic-to-the-point-of-moronicide intervention by other players， here largely the US and Saudi Arabia， two fundamentalist powers。 The sheer complexity of the opposition forces， ranging from well-meaning， decades-long veterans of the secular opposition to the beheading-seven-year-old-girls-for-coughing-the-wrong-way Islamists， makes it hard to untangle， as does the peculiarities of the "Western" interventions。 Van Dam goes a good job with this bit， confusing as it is， so this is a good go-to for that。 His introductory sections on the history of the Ba'th Party and the coming into power of Hafiz al-'Asad are great， too， if feeling a little too detached from the rest of the narrative。The reason why I say detached is as glaring as it is bizarre: when Hafiz al-'Asad dies in 2000， the story abruptly ends， with the next chapter taking up the rumblings in early 2011 that led to the civil war。 You read that right: an entire decade of Syrian history which happens to be the entire period Bashar al-'Asad was in power is simply ignored。 There is literally 1。5 pages a little later that glosses over this vaguely。 Since Bashar Al-'Asad is， well， the leader of the Syrian government， it seems a curious omission。 Why isn't this crucial period covered？ Van Dam himself waffles over Bashar， moving back and forth from calling his a dictatorial regime （which it is） to saying that Bashar himself might not have too much say in what is going on。 This could've been teased out with a section at least as long as his father showing what Bashar's policies and approaches were over that decade of war-less power， but Van Dam chose not to do so。 A damaging omission that makes this work halved in value。 Was it because Bashar was seen at the time in scholarly circles as a kind of new hope？ That maybe， just maybe he could do something positive？ There were certainly plenty of folks arguing that in the Oughts。 Whatever the case may be， it certainly leaves out a crucial part of the history of this unfortunate conflict。 。。。more

Amit Sharma ，

An insightful read。 The premise of the book reminded me of "Prisoners of Geography " by Tim Marshall。 The book sheds light on the underlying sectarian and ethnic tensions that erupted in full blown civil war by miscalculations from either sides of the conflict。 However， it is concerning to observe the nature of regimes and political actors in middle east。 It seems that all the states in middle east are ticking time bombs。 The mechanism of peaceful transfer of power is absent and the "winner" of An insightful read。 The premise of the book reminded me of "Prisoners of Geography " by Tim Marshall。 The book sheds light on the underlying sectarian and ethnic tensions that erupted in full blown civil war by miscalculations from either sides of the conflict。 However， it is concerning to observe the nature of regimes and political actors in middle east。 It seems that all the states in middle east are ticking time bombs。 The mechanism of peaceful transfer of power is absent and the "winner" of the political games are ready to kill anyone and everyone。 There is no hope for survival of culture with such approach。 Individual egos run high in all rulers it seems and they are ready to take everyone into grave along with them。 I also see that in foreseeable future， states in middle east might get continually influenced by USA and Russia， in one way or other as they all look ready to make faustian bargains only to hold on to power little longer。 The book conveys its message largely and is a reminder for all nations to not take peace for granted。 。。。more

Abd El ，

حسبي الله ونعم الوكيل

Alan ，

A great introduction to one of the most complex conflicts in the world。 The conflict is broken down into: 1。 the events leading up to the 2011 Syrian Revolution amidst the backdrop of the Arab Spring （including an analysis of the history of the Ba'ath Party in Syria） 2。 The conflict itself and its unique proxy dynamic （making the conflict unique compared to other civil uprisings in Syria） 3。 Possibilities for a solution。 A great introduction to one of the most complex conflicts in the world。 The conflict is broken down into: 1。 the events leading up to the 2011 Syrian Revolution amidst the backdrop of the Arab Spring （including an analysis of the history of the Ba'ath Party in Syria） 2。 The conflict itself and its unique proxy dynamic （making the conflict unique compared to other civil uprisings in Syria） 3。 Possibilities for a solution。 。。。more

Joma ，

Destroying a Nation is a unique text in that it is written by a diplomat who worked as the Dutch Special Envoy to Syria which gave him access to representatives of all of the major actors in the conflict as well as to all of the UN Special Envoys for Syria （Kofi Annan， Lakdar Brahimi and Steffan de Mistura）。The Introduction discusses Bilad al-Sham 'Greater Syria' including present-day Syria， Lebanon， Jordan， Palestine and areas of president-day Turkey。 Chapter one traces the history of the Ba'at Destroying a Nation is a unique text in that it is written by a diplomat who worked as the Dutch Special Envoy to Syria which gave him access to representatives of all of the major actors in the conflict as well as to all of the UN Special Envoys for Syria （Kofi Annan， Lakdar Brahimi and Steffan de Mistura）。The Introduction discusses Bilad al-Sham 'Greater Syria' including present-day Syria， Lebanon， Jordan， Palestine and areas of president-day Turkey。 Chapter one traces the history of the Ba'athist revolution from March 8， 1963 to 2011。 Chapters two through 4 discuss the Syrian Civil War and Chapter five discusses the peace process up to 2016。 Comes across to me as pretty even-handed despite quoting from some texts that I've been rather critical of。 。。。more

Andrew Clement ，

Maybe I am not rating this book higher be as I came to it expecting a much more in-depth description of the more contemporary conflict in Syria。 Instead what stood out to me， as opposed to accounting of the day-to-day battles or life under the war that I was expecting， was the context that the author provides regarding the underpinnings of the Asad regime's rise to power， and Syria's position within the wider geo-politics of the region。 I did however find the modern implications to be a bit glos Maybe I am not rating this book higher be as I came to it expecting a much more in-depth description of the more contemporary conflict in Syria。 Instead what stood out to me， as opposed to accounting of the day-to-day battles or life under the war that I was expecting， was the context that the author provides regarding the underpinnings of the Asad regime's rise to power， and Syria's position within the wider geo-politics of the region。 I did however find the modern implications to be a bit glossed over。 If anything， I thought the book could have stood to be longer， to show in greater detail how all of the context resulted in fallout。 。。。more

John ，

I was interested in learning more about the Syrian civil war after seeing the documentary film "For Sama" about one family’s experience of living in war-ravaged Aleppo。 I felt like this book helped me gain a better understanding of the incredible complexity of the conflict， including its historical origins， the numerous entities （the Al-Assad regime， ethnic， religious， and ideological groups， and foreign nations） that have a stake in its outcome， the constantly shifting priorities and alliances I was interested in learning more about the Syrian civil war after seeing the documentary film "For Sama" about one family’s experience of living in war-ravaged Aleppo。 I felt like this book helped me gain a better understanding of the incredible complexity of the conflict， including its historical origins， the numerous entities （the Al-Assad regime， ethnic， religious， and ideological groups， and foreign nations） that have a stake in its outcome， the constantly shifting priorities and alliances among these entities， and why the American ideal of a representative， democratically elected government in Syria is highly unlikely to be a reality in the foreseeable future。 。。。more

Daria Gordina ，

4，5 stars。 Firstly: on such a topic I find it important to read different narratives from different people， as it is impossible to be fully objective。 Nikolaos Van Dam is not Syrian， and his book is not about the Syrian people， but rather about the politics & big picture reasons for things happening in a certain way。 I have a lot of respect for him as he was a specialist on Syria long before 2011， lived in Damascus for a long time & speaks fluent Arabic - all while remaining an outsider， which m 4，5 stars。 Firstly: on such a topic I find it important to read different narratives from different people， as it is impossible to be fully objective。 Nikolaos Van Dam is not Syrian， and his book is not about the Syrian people， but rather about the politics & big picture reasons for things happening in a certain way。 I have a lot of respect for him as he was a specialist on Syria long before 2011， lived in Damascus for a long time & speaks fluent Arabic - all while remaining an outsider， which makes it much easier to conduct what Robert Fisk called “cool & lethal analysis”。 He sets up the Syrian tragedy， showing the deep rooted tensions & issues in a practical manner - in fact， that is probably what I appreciated most in this book。 Often times Western analysis is filled with preconceived Western ideals & morals， which do not necessarily apply to other cultures （for example， American authors writing about Russia always assume democracy is what the Russian people want - this is not necessarily true）。 Nikolas Van Dam shames Western nations for refusing to engage in “realpolitik” thus prolonging war and suffering。。。 but at the same time shows the struggle of engaging in said realpolitik & how even when this is attempted it doesn’t work if the opposition & regime also refuse。。。 The author also remains cautiously optimistic， with the closing line of the book one of my favourite quotes now。 A downside is that， unfortunately， very little text is given towards the Syrian people and their struggles， what they want - but then again， this is a political analysis， and in reality， unfortunately - in my opinion - that rarely affects decision-making & peace processes。 。。。more

James ，

A quick introduction to the Syrian Civil War， a topic that we should all know more about than we do。

Ietrio ，

Syria is a person。 A person who has descended into Civil War？？ Of course， White profiteers like van Dam， who are not content with selling weapons to the nuts， also have sent their own personal armies to kill more Syrians， this is only one more reason to write a nice book。 Everybody is selling something， even the photographer exploiting the suffering in the picture to make for an impactful cover。

Tammar Alsebaie ，

To a great extent， this book gives you the truth about how the Syrian people got betrayed。Very objective and neutral book。

Nienke Dek ，

Erg goed geschreven， niet heel makkelijk om te lezen maar ik heb het zelf gebruikt als bron voor mijn afstudeerscriptie。 Goed beeld van de burgeroorlog in Syrië en de vele aspecten die hierbij belangrijk waren en zijn。

Karim Achy ，

The book genuinely described clearly and concisely about the civil war in Syria that took place since 2012。 It exemplifies the different occurrences that are taking place between the opposition and the Asad regime。 Furthermore， I advise everyone to read this book to have a clear perspective on the civil war in Syria。

Kelly ，

The situation in Syria is complex。 Messy。 Confusing。 And by the middle of this book， I found myself in a similar position， struggling to understand where I was or what was going on。 However， the concluding chapter is fantastic。 Really clarifying， simplifying and brings everything together well。 The book could have been helped by a glossary or some form of diagram at the start depicting relations and groups for the opposing forces involved。 Would recommend to those who are patient and ready for p The situation in Syria is complex。 Messy。 Confusing。 And by the middle of this book， I found myself in a similar position， struggling to understand where I was or what was going on。 However， the concluding chapter is fantastic。 Really clarifying， simplifying and brings everything together well。 The book could have been helped by a glossary or some form of diagram at the start depicting relations and groups for the opposing forces involved。 Would recommend to those who are patient and ready for perhaps a little more detail than is necessary。 。。。more

DrVoyager ，

While van Dam sometimes seems a bit redundant and unnecessarilly repetitive， his book gives you a complete overview of the sociopolitical environment of Syria before and after the start of the Civil War， the actions （and inactions） of both sides， and he slides in an elegant critique of the role of developed nations in the domestic affairs of other countries。

Katherine ，

For how complicated the Syrian conflict is Destroying a Nation was very easy to follow。 Nikolaos van Dam laid out clear points and provoked many questions。 My interest is mostly in the Syrian Refugee Crisis， but this book gave some great insight on the conflict and the reasons why it hasn't been resolved。 Highly recommend for anyone who is interested in this conflict or International Security。 For how complicated the Syrian conflict is Destroying a Nation was very easy to follow。 Nikolaos van Dam laid out clear points and provoked many questions。 My interest is mostly in the Syrian Refugee Crisis， but this book gave some great insight on the conflict and the reasons why it hasn't been resolved。 Highly recommend for anyone who is interested in this conflict or International Security。 。。。more

Victoria ，

*** read for Case Study Syria course ***

Hayel Albaaj ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 يستغل الكاتب المتمرس في الشأن السوري معرفته و علاقاته الواسعة لتأليف هذا الكتاب الذي هو عبارة عن سرد ذاتي لتفاصيل المحنة السورية لسرد طبيعة النظام السوري و الأسباب التي أدت لقيام الثورة من طبيعة البنية السلطوية في سوريا وصولاً إلى النتائج البدهية بأن النظام لن يقدم تنازلات و لن يسقط إلا بتقديم الدعم العسكري الكافي لإسقاطه لا يضاهي هذا الكتاب بأي حال من الاحوال كتابه السابق الصراع على السلطة في سوريا

Tordar Tømmervik ，

A bleak look into a complex struggle for a country that has seen its fair share of hardship and which is unfortunately currently still far from seeing a solution。 After years of deep interest in the plight of the Syrian people and the refugee crisis， this book gave me a much needed insight to the backstory of the politics and the rise of the al-Asad regime。 Terms， places and names of people I've heard thrown around for years is finally starting to form a clear pattern for me， bringing me closer A bleak look into a complex struggle for a country that has seen its fair share of hardship and which is unfortunately currently still far from seeing a solution。 After years of deep interest in the plight of the Syrian people and the refugee crisis， this book gave me a much needed insight to the backstory of the politics and the rise of the al-Asad regime。 Terms， places and names of people I've heard thrown around for years is finally starting to form a clear pattern for me， bringing me closer to understand this tragic war and some of the reasons for why it is still going on after so many years。 。。。more

Abdulsattar ，

يبدو الكاتب في بداية الكتاب مقتنعا بفكرة حتمية الحرب السورية و أن لا مجال أبدا لتجنبها لأسباب منطقية عديدة و لكنه ما يلبث ان بناقش فكرة أخرى تنسف فكرته الأولى فيكتب ما معناه " لم يكن هناك أمل في استجابة النظام لأي طلب اصلاح أو امكانية لهزيمة النظام عسكريا ， لذلك فإن الاستسلام و 10 آلاف ضحية أفضل كثيرا من 500 الف شهيد و 13 مليون مهجر ！！！"。يحاول الكاتب أخذ موقف وسط من المعارضة و النظام في كثير من الأحيان ， مهاجما دكتاتورية النظام ووحشيته و مشيدا أحيانا بسلمية المعارضة في الأشهر الأولى و عدالة مطال يبدو الكاتب في بداية الكتاب مقتنعا بفكرة حتمية الحرب السورية و أن لا مجال أبدا لتجنبها لأسباب منطقية عديدة و لكنه ما يلبث ان بناقش فكرة أخرى تنسف فكرته الأولى فيكتب ما معناه " لم يكن هناك أمل في استجابة النظام لأي طلب اصلاح أو امكانية لهزيمة النظام عسكريا ， لذلك فإن الاستسلام و 10 آلاف ضحية أفضل كثيرا من 500 الف شهيد و 13 مليون مهجر ！！！"。يحاول الكاتب أخذ موقف وسط من المعارضة و النظام في كثير من الأحيان ， مهاجما دكتاتورية النظام ووحشيته و مشيدا أحيانا بسلمية المعارضة في الأشهر الأولى و عدالة مطالباتها ولكنه سرعان ما ينسف ذلك بكلمة لكن 。。。。。 التي تأتي دوما ناقضة لما قبلها。 الكتاب حظي بدعاية كبيرة مبالغ فيها كثيرا مقارنة بما ورد فيه من وجهة نظري و لو كنت قراته دون معرفة اسم الكاتب و مركزه لما أكملته。 لم يقدم الكاتب كذلك أي حل أو تصور و بقي عالقا في معضلته التي طرحها و بما معناه " كنتو عايشين و عم ينقتل و ينسجن ناس قليل ， فما كان في داعي تطلعوا و يموت و يتهجر ملايين 。。。" 。。。more

Sreeraag Mohan ，

The conflict in Syria is something that I've always tried to understand， but it has always been a struggle to find reliable， unbiased sources of information that delve into great detail on all the stakeholders， the proxies， and the motives behind the longstanding and devastating conflict。 Van Dam， with his lengthy correspondence in Syria and him not being Syrian or a national of one of the proxies involved in the conflict， is somebody with the right amount of distance and impartiality to report The conflict in Syria is something that I've always tried to understand， but it has always been a struggle to find reliable， unbiased sources of information that delve into great detail on all the stakeholders， the proxies， and the motives behind the longstanding and devastating conflict。 Van Dam， with his lengthy correspondence in Syria and him not being Syrian or a national of one of the proxies involved in the conflict， is somebody with the right amount of distance and impartiality to report on the conflict， yet a possessor of the right amount of insight required to report on something as complex as the Syrian Civil War。 Nicholas' detailed， yet concise work， Destroying A Nation， is the result， and instead of forcing a view upon you， it enables the reader to be objective and form his own opinion about the conflict。 。。。more

Lorens ，

Interesting and certainly enlightening， but more of a commentary than a description of the Syrian civil war。 I had wished for more facts and less of the authors own views。 But interesting analysis anyway showing why the situation was practically unsolvable from the beginning。Easy and quick reading。

Fares Halabi ，

If you need to understand Syrian revolution from inside， read this Book。 It tells the history of the Assad family in Syria and how they （Assad and Islamists） destroyed Syria。

Kate ，

5books。com editors choice nonfiction 2018

Alice ，

The book sheds more light on the local character of the war and presents the pecularities of the Syrian society and al-Asad’s regime， which transformed an initially peaceful demonstration into this year-long complication。 I now have a much better understanding of the social tensions inside Syria and of the crucial role they will play post（？）-Asad， which pose a lot of difficulties in coming up with a realistic solution。 A very necessary detailing of the many Syrian groups and identities that find The book sheds more light on the local character of the war and presents the pecularities of the Syrian society and al-Asad’s regime， which transformed an initially peaceful demonstration into this year-long complication。 I now have a much better understanding of the social tensions inside Syria and of the crucial role they will play post（？）-Asad， which pose a lot of difficulties in coming up with a realistic solution。 A very necessary detailing of the many Syrian groups and identities that find themselves caught up in their own fight for literal survival， as well as an overview of what has been tried， so far， by the international community， to bring the conflict closer to an end。 。。。more

Jeff Hirschy ，

Good BokThis is the first actually good book I’ve found that offers a decent overview of the conflict in Syria。 It’s one of those books that should be read by people to stay informed and keep their government accountable。

Christopher ，

I have been following this conflict since it first broke out， so I was not really in the market for a book on it until long after it ended and could enter the realm of historical appraisal proper。 But I came across some of the article writing of the author and he seemed a rare balanced observer as well as a country expert， so I decided to give his new book a try。This is not actually a proper military history of the war， but rather an appraisal of the context it came about in and how so many peop I have been following this conflict since it first broke out， so I was not really in the market for a book on it until long after it ended and could enter the realm of historical appraisal proper。 But I came across some of the article writing of the author and he seemed a rare balanced observer as well as a country expert， so I decided to give his new book a try。This is not actually a proper military history of the war， but rather an appraisal of the context it came about in and how so many people are constrained by a past they inherited when it comes to the options they have for exercising agency in the present。 As a lifelong studier of the government of Syria， van Dam spares no critique of their long held policies but fortunately， unlike many of the knee-jerk calvino-humanists of northern europe， also is fully aware of the deep problems with the rebel movements and their often horrific foreign backers。 While the book did little to change my mind that Assad is the least of the （realistic） evils in that country currently， it certainly showed the context of all factions in a stark light。 。。。more

Assem Saleh ，

المؤلف نيكولاس فان دام غني عن التعريف فهو ديبلوماسي هولندي عمل سنوات طويلة في الشرق الاوسط و له كتاب سابق بعنوان الصراع على السلطة في سوريا يعد بمثابة مرجع في تاريخ سوريا الحديث。 في كتابه الجديد يبدأ المؤلف بإستعراض سريع لتاريخ سوريا الحديث من عهد الانتداب و حتى بداية حكم بشار الاسد。 هذا الجزء احتل تقريبا ثلث الكتاب。 و هو جاء بهذه المراجعة السريعة لتاريخ سوريا لكي يدعم احد افكاره الاساسية في الكتاب و هي بأن الاحداث التي جرت في سوريا في الاعوام الاخيرة و الحرب الاهلية كانت نتيجة حتمية لا يمكن تفا المؤلف نيكولاس فان دام غني عن التعريف فهو ديبلوماسي هولندي عمل سنوات طويلة في الشرق الاوسط و له كتاب سابق بعنوان الصراع على السلطة في سوريا يعد بمثابة مرجع في تاريخ سوريا الحديث。 في كتابه الجديد يبدأ المؤلف بإستعراض سريع لتاريخ سوريا الحديث من عهد الانتداب و حتى بداية حكم بشار الاسد。 هذا الجزء احتل تقريبا ثلث الكتاب。 و هو جاء بهذه المراجعة السريعة لتاريخ سوريا لكي يدعم احد افكاره الاساسية في الكتاب و هي بأن الاحداث التي جرت في سوريا في الاعوام الاخيرة و الحرب الاهلية كانت نتيجة حتمية لا يمكن تفاديها。 بقية الكتاب يمكن النظر اليه ككرونولوجي للأحداث في سوريا من مارس 2011 و حتى 2017 و في هذا الجزء يطرح المؤلف افكاره عن الاخطاء السياسية التي ادت الى هذه المأساة。 اهم فكرة طرحها هي أن كل المواقف السياسية و الاستراتيجية لجميع اطراف النزاع في سوريا كانت مبنية على التفكير الرغائبي او "wishful thinking " 。 فالنظام السوري اعتقد عشية بدء الثورة في مارس 2011 بأن سيناريو مماثل لما حصل في حماة قبل ثلاثين عام هو ما سيحصل في 2011 و لم يتصور بأن الامر سيمتد لست اعوام دامية قابلة للزيادة و لذلك رفض تقديم اي تنازلات حقيقية في بداية الازمة。 و المعارضة ايضا توقعت بكثير من السذاجة و التفكير بالتمني بأن الاسد سيرحل و يتنحى كما حصل مع مبارك مثلا او بن علي و ساعدها على ذلك مشاركة الدول العربية و المجتمع الدولي نفس التفكير متجاهلين تركيبة الحكم و الجيش في سوريا。 و لذلك كان الخطأ الاستراتيجي الكبير بالإصرار على رحيل النظام رغم ان ذلك عمليا لم يكن ممكنا من دون عمل عسكري。 يختم المؤلف كتابه بعبارة " المعجزات تحصل فقط لمن يؤمن بها" و ربما كان قصده بأن انهاء هذه المأساة سيتطلب معجزة 。。。more

Stevie ，

I knew I lacked knowledge of what was truly going on in Syria due to the complexity of the situation， but this book left me feeling ashamed of myself for being so ignorant for so long。 Almost every other page I turned I would be shaking my head in disgust or disbelief about the actions and the lack of action that has taken place。 The author is great at simplifying the issues and teasing out the truth without being opinionated allowing the reader to gain enough information to see both sides。The b I knew I lacked knowledge of what was truly going on in Syria due to the complexity of the situation， but this book left me feeling ashamed of myself for being so ignorant for so long。 Almost every other page I turned I would be shaking my head in disgust or disbelief about the actions and the lack of action that has taken place。 The author is great at simplifying the issues and teasing out the truth without being opinionated allowing the reader to gain enough information to see both sides。The book has educated me not just about Syria though， but about the dangers of a national identity being slowly stripped away to breaking point。 How movements come about， and how seeds of rebellion are planted。 Without this book I would have gone through life without the understanding of how seven million people have displaced without resolution in my lifetime。 The book served its purpose but fell short on the deeper explanations of the international power and money involved。 Maybe it's not the authors fault but I would have liked to known the scale of investment and reward to be gained from the different international sides involved。 This book will live with me and I'm proud to say I've read this and not relied on news articles to inform me on this horrific event in time。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0