Hamilton-Wenham Public Library

The burning shores, inside the battle for the new Libya, Frederic Wehrey

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

maps

index present

non fiction

The burning shores

bibliography

1007504046

Frederic Wehrey

inside the battle for the new Libya

The death of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi freed Libya from forty-two years of despotic rule, raising hopes for a new era. But in the aftermath, the country descended into bitter rivalries and civil war, paving the way for the Islamic State and a catastrophic migrant crisis. In a fast-paced narrative that blends frontline reporting, analysis, and history, Frederic Wehrey tells the story of what went wrong. An Arabic-speaking Middle East scholar, Wehrey interviewed the key actors in Libya and paints vivid portraits of lives upended by a country in turmoil: the once-hopeful activists murdered or exiled, revolutionaries transformed into militia bosses or jihadist recruits, an aging general who promises salvation from the chaos in exchange for a return to the old authoritarianism. He traveled where few Westerners have gone, from the shattered city of Benghazi, birthplace of the revolution, to the lawless Sahara, to the coastal stronghold of the Islamic State in Qadhafi's hometown of Sirt. He chronicles the American and international missteps after the dictator's death that hastened the country's unraveling. Written with bravura, based on daring reportage, and informed by deep knowledge, The Burning Shores is the definitive account of Libya's fall

Prologue -- No ownership -- "The tent conquered the castle" -- Uprising -- Intervention -- False hope -- Unraveling -- Young men with guns -- "We don't know who's who" -- The attack on the Americans -- The revolution devours its own -- "This is dignity" -- Collapse -- Civil war -- Europe's African shores -- The Islamic State's African home -- The strongman -- Epilogue: Benghazi, 2017