Book description
How Libya has evolved from Ottoman province to international pariah
to seething cauldron of rebellion. For more than four decades, Libya
has been something of an enigma to outsiders. Ruled by the despotic
and unstable Muammar Gaddafi since he led a military coup in 1969, it
has vast oil wealth and one of the highest standards of living in
Africa. Yet it has also been one of the most prolific state sponsors
of terrorism (supplying arms and explosives to the IRA, perpetrating
the Lockerbie bombing) and dissent has, until recently, been crushed
ruthlessly. In early 2011 a popular uprising against Gaddafi, a
dictator nicknamed 'Mad Dog' by Ronald Reagan, finally looks as if he
might be toppled from power, as the wind of change blows through North
Africa and the Middle East. John Oakes, who lived and worked in Libya
for eight years before the revolution, provides an essential guide to
the country and its history, including what led Gaddafi to make Libya
an international pariah and the events of the 2011 revolt.
