Books

Towards a Syrian “politics of life”

Malek Rasamny 18 November 2020

A new book by Yasser Munif conceives of the Syrian revolution and later war as nothing less than a battle for life itself against a vast state-operated machinery of death.

Jinn and tonic: Medieval Islam’s celebrity doctors

Kevin Blankinship 21 August 2020

Doctors are rightly cherished in our Covid-plagued world, but can they write poetry? A new translation of a 13th-century Syrian classic recalls a time when physicians were also rockstar musicians, celebrated authors, and public intellectuals.

Syria’s forbidden cities

Maya Boty 20 December 2019

A new book of artworks tackles the Syrian regime’s use of public space as a tool of oppression, from 1980 to the present day.

The left today: A group portrait

Stephen Hastings-King 1 November 2019

A diverse and often divided family, the international left is on the rise today in response to economic failures and right-wing demagoguery. A new collection of 77 interviews captures the contemporary leftist zeitgeist, revealing its promises and weaknesses alike.

Lebanon, our painfully ordinary country

Joey Ayoub 11 October 2019

A new book by Cambridge University’s Andrew Arsan arguing Lebanon is “a microcosm of the contemporary world” successfully analyzes the country’s ills, offering a helpful framework for Lebanese seeking change, writes Joey Ayoub.

Almost home

Eric Reidy 7 August 2019

Alia Malek’s often-powerful portrait of her Damascus home sheds light on the perils and pleasures of Syria’s pre-war society, but also leaves questions unresolved, writes Eric Reidy.

Republic of Violence

Robin Jones 1 August 2019

A recent book argues violence is not merely an incidental feature of the Assad regime’s rule in Syria, but rather an inseparable component of its governance strategy, consciously pursued and pervading almost every detail of citizens’ interaction with the state.

Towards a Syrian “politics of life”

Jinn and tonic: Medieval Islam’s celebrity doctors

Syria’s forbidden cities

The left today: A group portrait

Lebanon, our painfully ordinary country

Almost home

Republic of Violence

Confirming the worst

Reconciliation without justice? An Israeli-Palestinian experiment

The Bibi boom

A platform for Syrians to own their discourse.

A platform for Syrians to own their discourse.