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“Drawing on years of reporting and interviews with those at the top of the Syrian regime, Sam Dagher’s book is one that readers won’t be able to put down.”―
— Today
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“An important addition to the existing literature on the Middle East—especially Syria—by an astute Middle East watcher…It is absolutely indispensable to understand current Middle Eastern and Syrian situation.”
— Washington Book Review
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“A riveting chronicle from a courageous journalist who was there to witness and report the truth. A book that should deservedly garner significant award attention.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice PickThe Economist Bets Books of the YearThe Guardian Best Books of 2019Kirkus's Best Nonfiction Books of 2019
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A moving and insightful account of the Syrian civil war.
— Yuval Noah Harari, The Guardian
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A vivid and powerful
account of the roots and course of the conflict, setting it in the context of
Assad's personal history and approach to power.
— Washington Post
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Dagher draws on
history, interviews and his own experience as a reporter in Syria to depict an
utterly ruthless regime.
— The New York Times Book Review, Editor's Choice
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[An] impressively detailed account
— The Guardian US
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Sam Dagher's book Assad or We Burn the Country is a vivid and at times gruelling account of the suppression of the Syrian resistance...It is a powerful testimony of a war correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. His account carries the outrage and passion of a witness to atrocity.
— Financial Times
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He was briefly held by pro-regime militiamen in an underground prison and was summarily expelled by the Mukhabarat in 2014. This gives his description of events a credibility lacking in many other accounts.
— Patrick Cockburn, New York Times Book Review
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An important addition to the existing literature on the Middle East - especially Syria - by an astute Middle East watcher...It is absolutely indispensable to understand current Middle Eastern and Syrian situation.
— The Washington Book Review
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An excellent book on the situation in Syria.
— Former US National Security Adviser H. R.McMaster
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As with so much of Dagher's writing, what's striking about the book is it doesn't just confirm the worst that's been reported about Assad's regime in the much-maligned "mainstream media;" it unearths new ways in which the horror and criminality are in fact more terrible than previously understood.
— Alex Rowell, Al-Jumhuriya
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Drawing on years of reporting and interviews with those at the top of the Syrian regime, Sam Dagher's book is one that readers won't be able to put down.
— Kerry Breen, TODAY Show
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As the only Western reporter based in Damascus during the early years of the civil war, Dagher has a rich perspective on the inner machinations of the regime of Bashar al Assad. In this important book, he lays out in grim detail the staggering cynicism and ruthless brutality of the Assad family. In doing so, he provides readers with a timely description of the dynasty that precipitated the destruction of a nation.
— Clarissa Ward, Chief International Correspondent, CNN International
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The Syrian uprising has been one of the most consequential events in our new century-it has changed the world. Sam Dagher has been reporting from the heart of the crisis. His book, told through the eyes of two important Syrian insiders, a human rights activist and a former Brigadier General of the Syrian Republican Guard, is a vivid description of the crisis as it unfolded over the past 8 years. It is a must read for anyone who seeks to understand the complex world we are living in.
— Dr. Zaher Sahloul, Syrian American doctor and President of MedGlobal
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A riveting chronicle from a courageous journalist who was there to witness and report the truth. A book that should deservedly garner significant award attention.
— Kirkus, starred review
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An impressive feat of journalism.
— Publishers Weekly