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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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After explaining the historical background the bookfocuses on pre-Islamic cities from Phoenician, Greek to Roman times. Ageneral view on early Islamic cities in North Africa and the Near Eastintroduces into the specific problems of early Islamic cities in Libyaaccording to sources from written documents and archaeologicalevidences, and preserved architectural buildings in the moderntowns. Special investigation concentrates on regional cities as theOld City of Tripoli, Ajdabiya, Sultan and Zuila. The general analysispresents new information on the site and idea of planning, thearchitectural features, the decoration, material and techniques, andon the special problem of orientation of the mosques. Thus the bookaims to fill a gap between Maghreb and the Near East. ... Read more

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Diplomatic relations between the United States and Libya have rarely followed a smooth path. Washington has repeatedly tried and failed to mediate lasting solutions, to prevent recurrent crises, and to secure its own national interests in a region of increasing importance to the United States. Libya and the United States, Two Centuries of Strife provides a unique and up-to-date analysis of U.S.-Libyan relations, assessing within the framework of conventional historical narrative the interaction of the governments and peoples of Libya and the United States over the past two centuries.

Drawing on a wide range of new and unfamiliar material, Ronald Bruce St John, an expert with over thirty years of experience in international relations, charts the instances of ignorance, misunderstanding, treachery, and suffering on both sides that have shaped and limited commercial and diplomatic intercourse.

St John argues that Cold War strategies resulted in a paradoxical and ambiguous U.S. policy toward Libya during the Idris regime of the 1960s, strategies that contributed to the bankruptcy of that monarchy. Following the Libyan revolution, the U.S. wrongly believed Qaddafi would become an ally in support of U.S. policy to keep Soviet influence and communism out of the region; his failure to do so marked the beginning of an era of political tension and mutual distrust.

Libya and the United States, Two Centuries of Strife documents how long-standing policy differences over the Palestinian issue and such terrorist acts as the destruction of the U.S. embassy in Tripoli and the Pan Am explosion over Lockerbie in 1988 resulted in a sharp deterioration of relations. St John contends that the ensuing demonization of Libya and the U.S. policy of confrontation, which has spanned successive administrations in Washington, have ironically often not served American interests in the region but, rather, have facilitated Qaddafi's survival.

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Germany's Afrikakorps of World War II became one of the all-time greatest military legends. With German offensives stalled on other fronts, Third Reich photographers gave maximum coverage to the Afrikakorps and its charismatic commander, Erwin Rommel.

In this remarkable work, hundreds of photographs, many previously unpublished, cover every aspect of the men, equipment, and campaigns of the desert army from the beginning in Libya in 1941 to the bitter end in Tunisia in 1943. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Outstanding pictoral work on the Afrikakorp!
If you are looking for only one pictoral work on this subject - this is the one to own!It be quite honest I have not read the book cover to cover yet - I can't get past the photos and the detailed captions - 90% of the photos are unpublished.The author
obviously spent sometime running these photos to ground. The
last 20-30 pages contain color photos which appear to be
taken from the German wartime magazine Signal.The book is in
written in French & English but this does not distract from its
overall 'viewability'.The book is worth the price!! ... Read more

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national bibliography of libya
just to have an eadia about it . ... Read more

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Although Libya and its current leader have been the subject of numerous accounts, few have considered how the country's tumultuous history, its institutional development, and its emergence as an oil economy combined to create a state whose rulers ignored the notion of modern statehood. International isolation and a legacy of internal turmoil have destroyed or left undocumented much of what researchers might seek to examine. Dirk Vandewalle supplies a detailed analysis of Libya's political and economic development since the country's independence in 1951, basing his account on fieldwork in Libya, archival research in Tripoli, and personal interviews with some of the country's top policymakers.Vandewalle argues that Libya represents an extreme example of what he calls a "distributive state," an oil-exporting country where an attempt at state-building coincided with large inflows of capital while political and economic institutions were in their infancy. Libya's rulers eventually pursued policies that were politically expedient but proved economically ruinous, and disenfranchised local citizens. Distributive states, according to Vandewalle, may appear capable of resisting economic and political challenges, but they are ill prepared to implement policies that make the state and its institutions relevant to their citizens. Similar developments can be expected whenever local rulers do not have to extract resources from their citizens to fund the building of a modern state. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The best Political Economy Analysis of Libya
I lived in Libya for two years and worked as a UNDP officer there.Having had first hand knowledge of this country I have found few books better than Vandewalle's Libya since Independence. Not only is it an informative text about Libya's socio-economic development it is also a study of the distributive State and the very negative consequences that oil wealth can generate if mishandled.Vandewalle deals with Libya since its independence in 1949 and the political, social and economic transformation that occurred from then to the present.The text notes that the regime that was established as a result of the 1969 revolution has made great efforts to distribute the wealth accumulated from oil production among the population while promoting large scale development projects in infrastructure, education and ISI industrial development.By far the largest single development effort has been the multi-billion dollar Great Man Made River (GMMR) project designed to facilitate irrigation for agricultural production along the Libyan coastline.According to the UNDP adequate standards of living have existed for the majority of the population as a result of an extensive program of welfare spending that has included the provision of state provided basic services and subsidies for many consumer products.
Although significant, Libya's development, both before and after the Fatih Revolution, has been almost entirely patronized by the state.Whereas the government intervened in all sectors of the economy, including import and distribution, there has recently been an effort to transfer some of that responsibility to the private sector.The sharp decline of crude oil prices in the mid 1980's hurt the State's distributive capacity and made it necessary to curtail spending and adopt a measure of economic reforms to stimulate greater private sector involvement in the economy.However, the reforms have only effectively served to retract the distributive network welfare system of subsidies and services that had been one the Government's principal sources of legitimacy with the population, while economic liberalization has not contributed to the creation of a viable and productive private sector.The failure of these reforms has highlighted the institutional shortcomings of the regime that enacted them.

Love this book!!
We just used Libya since Independence in one of my middle east classes at NYU, and I just loved it.I never knew much about Libya except for what I read in the newspaper, and this was quite an eye opener.Deepened myinterest in the Middle East immeasurably.And the opening line--a Libyanproverb--is astonishing in its simplicity and farsightedness.Great book.

Best book on Libya for over a decade
A remarkable piece of work.Libya remains one of the countries in the Middle East we know little about, and Vanderwalle's account is one of the best ever.It pretty much replaces whatever has been written about thecountry during the last 10-15 years in most academic and popularpublications.It is scrupulously honest about Kaddafi's politics, andshows as no other previous account how the current Libyan leader extendedmany of his predecessor's policies.Well written and accessible, despitesomewhat a somewhat daunting theoretical chapter.A definitive analysis ofLibya since independence.

Best book on Libya so far
An amazingly comprehensive and insightful study of Libya since 1951.Goes far beyond all the hyberbolic statements the Kaddafi regime AND the United States government have made over the years by systematically putting theLibyan political experimentation in the context of Third World development. Judicious and careful, Vandewalle's access to Libya has produced what isperhaps the best book on this difficult subject in this decade.A realcontribution to the study of Libya and to middle eastern studies ingeneral.

Best book on Libya in a decade--THE definitive analysis!
Having just ordered Vandewalle's book for my seminar and lecture course, I can only wish this insightful account of Qadhafi's revolution--and its link to the Sanusi kingdom's attempt to avoid creating a modern state--had beenavailable much earlier.It is easily the most sophisticated analysis ofthe country ever written, and the thoughtful application of a modifiedrational choice and institutional literature to the puzzle of a seemingabsence of state-building in Libya is first-rate and clearly demonstrateshow political scientists/political economists can integrate theoreticalconcepts and factual material in a provocative fashion.In addition,Vandewalle writes extremely well, in a fashion that makes the theoreticalmaterial accessible even for non-specialists.This book is a realtour-de-force, recommended to anyone interested in North Africa and theMiddle East and the problem of state creation in the region. ... Read more

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The Libyan revolution of September 1, 1969, was led by the relatively unknown Colonel Muammar El Qaddafi. The young revolutionaries felt it was crucial to associate themselves with an established Arab power and turned to Egypt and its revered leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Egyptians dispatched several key diplomats to Tripoli, including Salah El Saadany, overnight. Over the next seven years, the Egyptian and Libyan relationship vacillated between placidity and volcanic eruptions-always unpredictable and often puzzling. An unusually astute and powerful insider here reveals the personalities of the leaders, and their tortuous diplomatic and political intrigues, in a book rejected as too frank by all Egyptian publishers approached. ... Read more

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First- rate scholarship
This is an insightful, rate work of scholarship on Libyan Jewry. It provides the historical background , and is excellent in detailing the special customs of this particular community. ... Read more

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This text examines Anglo-American plans for North African decolonization following World War II and focuses specifically on the events preceeding the UN discussions that led to the creation of the modern Libyan state. It is based on archival sources from both America and Britain. ... Read more

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Libya and Chad have gone to war with each other several times since Independence, ostensibly over their rival claims to the disputed Aozou strip. àIJohn Wright, senior political analyst in the BBC Arabic Service, traces the ethnic, cultural and economic links between them over the centuries and shows how these connections contribute to present rivalries. There follows an analysis of Colonel Moammar Gadafi's aggressive policies towards Chad, which reflect his concern for Libya's security and desire to increase its influence; his struggles against French influence in the region; and his perception of his country as a liberating force for fellow-Muslims in Chad and elsewhere. Mr. Wright concludes that continued Libyan interest in Chadian affairs is unavoidable and that mutual hostility will continue into the foreseeable future.àR Contents: The Great Sahara; Where Africa Begins; Al-Dar al-Islam; The Ninteenth Century; Sanusi, Firearms and Slaves; The Age of Imperialism; Libya in Chad; Bibliography; IndexàR ... Read more