Books like Syria

Many authors will know the question of where to start the story. I think that this is particularly true in any discussion of Israel-Palestine.

Sometimes Israelis like to start it 3000 years ago in a mythical Biblical state, sometimes in an equally chimerical version of Israel’s acceptance of what the UN agreed to in 1947 – and sometimes, with the perennial bias of news, it is started as though history began last week. 

Israel’s ability to control the narrative has long characterised the conflict. To declare unchallenged that: “The Balfour Declaration gave Israel a legal right to Palestine:” or “In 1948, Israel was attacked by all surrounding Arab armies:” or “In 1967, we were only defending ourselves.” 

So, it is in an effort to correct this, to tell the Palestinian story, that Ramzy Baroud’s book is written. At times angry, more often poignant and disturbing, it is a tale about… show more.

I like books that challenge you to rethink your assumptions.

And Shlomo Sand certainly does that here, with a patient and precise account that reveals the complexity and plurality of Zionist thought while challenging the notion that there is a single strand of Zionist belief. At the same time, Sand explores Arab thinking from the end of the nineteenth century right up to today, explaining attitudes to early Jewish migration, the origins of the PLO and the recent politics of things like the Oslo Accords. 

What is most powerful, however, is the way that the book ends by saying that if, today, there is still no answer to the question of the future of Israel, it is still up to each of us who are concerned for the children of the region to continue pressing, even if against hope, for respect for those so much-denied, so much-trampled principles of equality… show more.

As a gloomy Capricorn, I’m not very optimistic about the future, and so I am always happy to read a disaster book, and at first glance, the contents list of John Hand’s tale of what awaits humanity promises to be just that.

But after only a few pages of Hand's talking about space rocks hitting the Earth, the gloomy reader will already be a bit puzzled at what seems to be Hand’s indefatigable spirit of technological optimism. On the wonderfully awful prospect of huge space rocks hitting the planet, we’re told that, thanks to NASA scientists:

“…we now know that there are no comparably large asteroids (diameter greater than 5km) in orbits that could potentially hit Earth.”

Well, how boring is that! But I’m sure the scientists have their reasoning principles. They usually do, which, like Groucho Marx, they also offer to swap for other ones later if need be. … show more.

I recommend this book as a bit of a gear change. Or, put another way, a different perspective on knowledge.

It’s not about Israel-Palestine, but it surely says something about how we shape the issue today. What do I mean? Well, consider, as the book challenges us early on: 

“When we say someone is smart—and especially in normal, everyday conversation—we often mean they are witty, funny, sharp, clever, entertaining, political, cagey, crafty, shrewd, sly, wary, wily, devious, sneaky, circumspect, cunning, tricky, biting, stinging, confident, popular, or a blast. These “smart”-associated terms have social implications...about how smartly we control and conduct ourselves among all the complex cooperative and competitive interactions with family, friends, enemies, and strangers. Our everyday use of “intelligent” usually concerns social intelligence.”

And that’s why, today, Mark and Tim think, social media has a surprisingly big role in how knowledge is really constructed even in the sciences.  

“You… show more.

Salma and her mom live in a refugee camp in Canada, and they miss Salma’s dad, who is still in Syria. Salma decides to cook a Syrian meal for her mom, but to make the meal a success, she needs to get help and ingredients from everyone in the village. I loved how making and sharing the food they miss from their home in Syria helped Salma and her mom start to build a new community. And the illustrations are as delicious as the food they cook! 

Some books get a lot of praise, and some books truly deserve it. Boy, Everywhere is one of those books. Not only does it follow an epic journey across vast distances that’s fraught with danger and strife, it also follows a child going from a life he loves in Damascus to new and challenging beginnings in England. What’s so astounding about Sami’s journey is that it could so easily be real – and for many, it is. This book will take you on a journey of understanding and empathy, as well as across continents.

What can I say? I cried more than a few times reading Lindsey Hilsum’s humanizing and deeply personal biography of Marie Colvin. Hilsum’s brilliant portrait paints a figure that burns a little too brightly with life to live long in this world of ours. 

She took her first reporting job with UPI and then transferred to the Sunday Times where she garnered the Sunday Times where she garnered the reputation of the kind of reporter who could get stories that no one else could. She was the first to interview Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and Hilsum’s heart-pounding description put me right in the bunker with her as she nervously clicked on her tape recorder for the interview under the watchful gaze of several armed guards. From there, Colvin covered some of the 1990s' most consequential combat zones, reflecting the chaos that ensued from the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In… show more.

The definitive account so far of the Syrian civil war, and of the insurgency against the dictatorship of Bashar Assad. Sam Dagher combines a literary sensibility, deep knowledge of Syria, and acquaintance with the people on the ground, and an ability for tireless and dogged reporting and truth-seeking. The passages dealing with the Assad regime’s slaughter of arrested civilians in its jails are harrowing and are a reminder of the horrifying nature of this regime and the need for it to remain isolated and under pressure. At the same time, Dagher remains a cool and dispassionate analyst of the progress of the conflict, and of the factors which enabled the regime and its allies to prevail.  

The Desert and the Sown is perhaps the most personal of all Gertrude Bell’s travel books revealing a deeply affectionate engagement with the people and places of Syria. It is the first of her books that I read while researching the subject of Bedouin tribes in early 20th century Syria. I wanted to know what connection the Bedouin tribal elites had to the major trading cities such as Damascus, Homs, and Aleppo. There, in her description of Damascus, she revealed the evidence I had been looking for: “In Damascus the sheikhs of the richer tribes have their townhouses; you may meet Muhammad of the Hasene or Bassan of the Beni Rashid peacocking down the bazaars on a fine Friday; in embroidered cloaks and purple and silver kerchiefs fastened about their brows with camel’s hair ropes bound with gold…” I can just see those tribal leaders now in my… show more.

This is another book of heart-pounding excitement from first page to last. Lex Harper is an assassin used by the British government’s shady department called The Pool, which has the remit to work in unconventional ways to achieve its goals.

The main storyline relates to a rogue soldier who persuades ISIS to support his desire to launch an attack on British soil. When The Pool learns what is happening, they hire Harper to neutralise him.

I wouldn’t rank it as highly as my other favourite picks because I found a few parts of the plot rather unrealistic, but the never-ending action and excitement dragged me through the book at high speed, so I definitely still enjoyed it overall and award it a place among the others.