Assad

Engrossing . . . Coughlin, as this fine book proves, is a careful judge of situations, and what might be hyperbole from another writer is a damning indictment of a man whose name should join the ranks of those who linger in infamy, including Hitler, Stalin and, more recently, another of this author’s most recent subjects: Saddam Hussein . . . [it is] meticulously researched and even-handed – as far as such an account can be – and has the vice-like grip of a thrillerAlexander Larman, The Daily Telegraph

Useful, clear and interesting . . . a biography, but also an indictmentJason Burke, Literary Review

An important, compelling, and detailed examination of the failure of Western powers to act decisively in the early years of the Syrian Civil War and to prevent one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the early twenty-first century. In this significant new book, Con Coughlin provides a superb analysis of the West’s policy missteps and the tragic consequences of them.General David Petraeus

Fascinating, timely and sharp, Con Coughlin delivers a lucid portrait of the brutal power games and byzantine conspiracies of Syria's Assad dynasty.Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The World: a Family History