Hafiz al-Assad, one of the most controversial dictators in the Middle East, ruled Syria for thirty years and played a central role in the events and conflicts in the region. Jamal Abozaid tells the story of al-Assad as a young man on his way to notoriety and worldwide abhorrence. Al-Assad claimed tens of thousands of lives and left behind thousands of prisoners, orphans and widows before his death in 2000. He also paved the way for his son, Bashar, to inherit the country. The author paints a graphic review of events and episodes until the Arab Spring, resulting in the uprising against Bashar Al-Assad. The brutal events leave the reader with no doubt as to why the regime being in direct opposition to the rest of the international community. There is no fiction here... or heroes, heroines or supermen arriving to redress the conflict. This is pure and unadulterated fact, from days of the Palestinian-Israel conflict, the downfall of Saddam Hussein, the Iranian Islamic revolution and its influence in the region, the Russian intervention and the emergence of 'Islamic State'. The conflict over Syria continues...