From Publishers Weekly
British journalist Seale ( The Struggle for Syria ) here fashions a political portrait of President Hafiz al-Asad that emphasizes his patience, caution and courage without obscuring his conspiratorial past or his selective ruthlessness. He describes Asad's rise from peasant origins to national leadership in a bloodless coup, analyzes the view from Damascus of Syria's role in the wars with Israel and Asad's continuing efforts to block piecemeal settlements with Israel by other Arab countries. Double-crossed, according to Seale, by his Egyptian partner Anwar Sadat during the 1973 October War, Asad was then "duped" by Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy and "robbed" of the fruits of the war. Asad is quoted as claiming that his goal is not Syrian supremacy but a balance of power, and that a fair peace will come about only when the Arabs achieve strategic parity with the Jewish state. An admiring but not uncritical biography of Israel's most dangerous enemy, this book sheds light on an enigmatic leader. Photos. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
More than an excellent biography of Hafiz al-Asad, Syria's national leader, this is a tour de force of contemporary Syrian history and politics. Seale, a Middle Eastern specialist and a journalist, had direct access to Asad. Here is a clear successor to Seale's near monumental The Struggle for Syria (1965) and a substantial companion to Moshe Ma'oz's Asad: The Sphinx of Damascus; A Political Biography ( LJ 9/15/88). Seale perceives Asad as a masterful politician maneuvering Syria into a position of dominance in the Middle East and uncovers much of the mystery that has surrounded the Syrian leader by documenting Asad's interactions, directly and indirectly, with national and regional leaders. Well recommended and indeed required reading for anyone interested in the contemporary Middle East.- Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba Coll . , Salisbury, N.C.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Los Angeles Times Book Review
This is a book in the finest tradition of investigative scholarship. The research is awesome. . . . Seales great strength is his ability to explain the confusing kaleidoscopic nature of Middle Eastern diplomacy. He understands the game being played and also knows the players. . . . [An] impressive book.

ANNOTATION

For more than twenty years, the ruler of Syria, Hafiz al-Asad, has been at the heart of the power struggle in the Middle East. Patrick Seale's portrait of the leader shows a man driven by his personal vision for Syria and the Arab world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

British journalist Seale ( The Struggle for Syria ) here fashions a political portrait of President Hafiz al-Asad that emphasizes his patience, caution and courage without obscuring his conspiratorial past or his selective ruthlessness. He describes Asad's rise from peasant origins to national leadership in a bloodless coup, analyzes the view from Damascus of Syria's role in the wars with Israel and Asad's continuing efforts to block piecemeal settlements with Israel by other Arab countries. Double-crossed, according to Seale, by his Egyptian partner Anwar Sadat during the 1973 October War, Asad was then ``duped'' by Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy and ``robbed'' of the fruits of the war. Asad is quoted as claiming that his goal is not Syrian supremacy but a balance of power, and that a fair peace will come about only when the Arabs achieve strategic parity with the Jewish state. An admiring but not uncritical biography of Israel's most dangerous enemy, this book sheds light on an enigmatic leader. Photos. (Apr.)

Library Journal