The Blood Between Us (syria After The Fall Of Assad)

By (author) Yassin-Kassab Robin
Short description/annotation:
In just eleven days, Syria’s decades-long dictatorship fell, ending the Assad era. Blending history, reportage, and personal accounts, this book explores the revolution’s roots, its staggering costs, and the uncertain future of a nation on the brink of transformation.
Description:

In a matter of days, an intense rebel offensive brought down one of the world’s most entrenched regimes, ending the sixty-year Baathist dictatorship and the Assad family’s grip on Syria. The speed of the collapse stunned observers. Yet this was no sudden fall. It was the culmination of a revolution forged through years of protest, repression and resistance.

The fall triggered celebrations and freedoms Syrians had not experienced in decades. But the cost has been immense, and the wounds of violence are unresolved. As the country enters a precarious new phase, urgent questions remain: can justice be delivered and a fractured society rebuilt? Or will competing powers and unaddressed grievances pull Syria back into conflict?

Drawing on first-hand reporting and interviews across Syria, Robin Yassin-Kassab traces this pivotal moment through the lives of those who lived it. The Blood Between Us is a portrait of a country suspended between collapse and possibility – and a clear-eyed account of who will shape what comes next.

Table of contents:
Map viii Timeline of events ix List of acronyms xi Preface: The Transitional Moment 1 1 Eleven Days 5 2 Moving to the Centre 54 3 Revolution Yesterday 84 4 Our Lives Count for Nothing 107 5 March: ‘Some Blood Had to Be Spilled’ 131 6 July: ‘Sunni or Druze?’ 157 7 Broken Bridges 189 8 Militia-Land 216 9 Bani Umayya 242 10 From the Rubble 265 Afterword: Breathing Space 295 Postscript 303 Notes 307 Further reading 323 Acknowledgements 327 Index 328
Biographical note:
Robin Yassin-Kassab is a noted British Syrian writer and journalist. He has been commenting on the Syrian Revolution and war since 2011 with by-lines in The Guardian, Foreign Policy and Newsweek, among others, and appearances on the BBC, Channel 4 and Al Jazeera. He also writes for the quarterly journal, Critical Muslim, and is the author, with Leila al-Shami, of the critically acclaimed Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War (shortlisted for the Folio Prize) and a novel, The Road from Damascus. Yassin-Kassab is currently the English editor of the Prisons Museum, an NGO which documents and investigates prisons run by both ISIS and the Assad regime. He lives in Scotland. 
Endorsement:
‘This is essential reading on Syria''s transition, balancing granular detail with the broader picture of what the country''s future means for the Middle East.’ Radwan Ziadeh, Senior Fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC
Endorsement:
‘Robin Yassin-Kassab is unmatched in his knowledge, analysis and his passion.’ – Janine di Giovanni, author of The Morning They Came For Us
Endorsement:
''The Blood Between Us is an invaluable account of Syria in the immediate aftermath of the Assad regime’s brutal dictatorship. Yassin-Kassab combines historical insight with first-hand observation to illuminate the formidable challenges the country faces as it seeks to rebuild within a volatile, war-scarred region.'' – Philip S Khoury, Ford International Professor of History, MIT
Endorsement:
''Robin Yassin-Kassab delivers a lucid and compelling account of Syria’s ongoing struggle for change. Powerful and deeply informed, it bears witness to the courage and resilience of the Syrian people.’ – Dr Bente Scheller, author of The Wisdom of Syria''s Waiting Game