Assad

The Triumph of Tyranny

By: Con Coughlin

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

'Engrossing . . . has the vice-like grip of a thriller' - The Telegraph

'Fascinating, timely and sharp' - Simon Sebag Montefiore

In Assad: The Triumph of Tyranny, Con Coughlin, veteran commentator on war in the Middle East and author of Saddam: The Secret Life, examines how a mild-mannered ophthalmic surgeon transformed himself into the tyrannical ruler of a once flourishing country.

Until the Arab Spring of 2011, the world’s view of Bashar al-Assad was largely benign. He and his wife, a former British banker, were viewed as philanthropic individuals doing their best to keep their country at peace. So much so that a profile of Mrs Assad in American Vogue was headlined ‘The Rose in the Desert’. Shortly after it appeared, Syria descended into the horrific civil war that has seen its cities reduced to rubble and thousands murdered and displaced, a civil war that is still raging over a decade later.

In this vivid and authoritative account Con Coughlin draws together all the strands of Assad's remarkable story, revealing precisely how a young doctor ensured not only that he inherited the presidency from his father, but held on to power to preside over one of the most brutal regimes of modern times.

Critic reviews

Engrossing . . . Coughlin, as this fine book proves, is a careful judge of situations, and what might be hyperbole from another writer is a damning indictment of a man whose name should join the ranks of those who linger in infamy, including Hitler, Stalin and, more recently, another of this author’s most recent subjects: Saddam Hussein . . . [it is] meticulously researched and even-handed – as far as such an account can be – and has the vice-like grip of a thriller (Alexander Larman)

Useful, clear and interesting . . . a biography, but also an indictment (Jason Burke)

An important, compelling, and detailed examination of the failure of Western powers to act decisively in the early years of the Syrian Civil War and to prevent one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the early twenty-first century. In this significant new book, Con Coughlin provides a superb analysis of the West’s policy missteps and the tragic consequences of them. (General David Petraeus)

Fascinating, timely and sharp, Con Coughlin delivers a lucid portrait of the brutal power games and byzantine conspiracies of Syria's Assad dynasty. (Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World: a Family History)

Con Coughlin's Assad curdles the blood from beginning to end and is always underpinned by superb foundations in analysis. A must-read for everyone who wants to understand the Middle East today. (Robert Service)

Con Coughlin examines how a quiet eye surgeon could have turned into one of the world’s most vicious blood-stained dictators. No one could be better qualified than Coughlin to write this thought-provoking and penetrating book. (Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destinty)

Comprehensive Overview

I went into this title with little knowledge on what's been going on in Syria for the last 20 years and events leading up to the war. This presents a pretty comprehensive overview and gave me a solid base understanding of things. I'd have preferred if it went deeper into some of the economic scenarios that allow Syria to operate but at least i can hold competent conversations on the topic. Would recommend this to anyone wanting to actually understand the situation as it's rather complicated with so many actors in the region with conflicting goals, even amongst allies. Enjoy!

Insightful

Brilliantly book and very comprehensive. Finally the Ukranian-Russian-WAR makes sense. This book reveals the ideology and geo-politics that have fuelled the major global conflicts between Capitalists, Neo-pseudo-imperialists, Jihadists and Zionists.