A History of Libya: (Columbia/Hurst)

John Wright begins his history of Libya as far back as prehistoric times and concludes with the fortieth anniversary of the Gadafi revolution. He briefly surveys the territory's early hunter-gatherers and the activities of its mid-desert Garamantian civilization. Then he travels briskly through the land's successive invaders: the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Muslim Arabs, Genoans, Normans, Spaniards, Knights of Malta, Ottoman Turks, and semi-independent Karamanlis. Wright traces the routes of the ancient trans-Saharan black slave trade, which involved ports in Tripoli, Benghazi, the eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Aegean Sea, and the Levant, and he highlights Tripoli's nineteenth-century role in enabling European exploration of the desert. Wright's modern history centers on the Italian era (1911--1943), addressing the harshness of Italy's long conquest yet giving credit to the material achievements of Air Marshal Italo Balbo. Three chapters recast Libya's largely passive role in the Second World War; 1951's fairly smooth transition to an internationally brokered independence; the Sanussi monarchy, which reigned for eighteen years; the discovery and exploitation of oil in the 1950s and 1960s; and the post-1969 Colonel Gadafi phenomenon. This revised edition adds a new chapter on the events surrounding Gadafi's fall and the early developments taking shape in post-liberation Libya. Wright has also revised his text to reflect recent research.

About the Author :
John Wright was formerly chief political commentator and analyst for the BBC Arabic Service, specializing in Libya, the Sahara, and the international oil industry. He has written or edited six books on Libya, Saharan travel and exploration, and the Saharan slave trade, and he is the author of numerous articles and papers.

Review :
"We have every reason to be grateful for the republication of A History of Libya, particularly at a time when Libya is hoping again to be a member of international communities after so many years of isolation. John Wright has been the standard-bearer for Libyan historical studies for more than half a century. His book is an excellent contribution and will be invaluable for anyone interested in Libyan affairs." -- Mohamed Ben-Madani, editor, The Maghreb Review "A timely and updated reissue of a standard work on Libya. Required reading for all those who wish to understand this desert enigma." -- Saul Kelly, King's College, London, author of The Hunt for Zerzura: The Lost Oasis and the Desert War "John Wright's original study of Libya was a unique and masterly survey of the country's history. This updated edition possesses all the virtues of the original, together with an acute and perceptive analysis of both the Libyan Jamahariyah of Colonel Gadafi and its humiliating end in 2011. It provides us with the most complete study of Libya's complex history to date and is an essential companion for any scholar, journalist, or interested reader anxious to understand this unusual and important Mediterranean state." -- George Joffe, University of Cambridge