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Reviews
Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry That Unravelled the Middle East by Kim Ghattas
akash_ghani's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
razhamdani's review against another edition
4.0
Read this book if you want to know how iran/saudia arbia bring out the worst instincts in each other and this cycle feeds into the paranoia and lust for power inherent to them. Several countries -> pakistan, syria, irqa , lebanon, egypt & yemen got engulfed into this war, which exacerbated the local dynamics as well. Some interesting takeaway include Khomeini's rise to power (got rid of Imam Sadr?), Zia sending sunni militias to kill shia tribsmen in 1987 (first state sanctioned sectarian hit in muslim history), MBS tightening the screws over the kingdom from 2015 (got rid of JKh?), the brave millennial activists in iran/saudia demanding more freedoms from their governments.
the narrative is easy going, the complexities of the region fully respected.
the writer is hopeful about the future and i hope stays that way which would reflect in her later work.
Strong recommendation.
the narrative is easy going, the complexities of the region fully respected.
the writer is hopeful about the future and i hope stays that way which would reflect in her later work.
Strong recommendation.
sbratty17's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.25
gingerwithasoul's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful primer on recent history in the Middle East that does a better job of explaining the complexities of what happened and how than what you normally find in soundbites and headlines. If you are from the region, you probably already know most of this and more, but for those of us who grew up on the outside seeing nothing but news stories that explain what but don't explain why, this is a phenomenal read.