Prometheus New Releases - Fall 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Cheryl Quimba at 800-853-7545 • [email protected]

Praise for the Hardcover edition:

"Erlich…clearly and succinctly explains Syria’s current political and military stalemate in this important, informative, and well researched book.... Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the current turmoil in the Middle East." —Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW Inside Syria The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect Reese Erlich Foreword by Noam Chomsky With a New Epilogue by the Author

Based on firsthand reporting from Syria and throughout the Middle East, veteran journalist Reese Erlich unravels the complex dynamics underlying the Syrian Civil War. Through vivid, on-the-ground accounts and interviews with rebel leaders, regime supporters, and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad himself, Erlich gives the reader a better understanding of this momentous power struggle and why it matters.

Through his many contacts inside Syria, the author reveals who is supporting Assad and why, describes the agendas of the rebel factions, and depicts in stark terms the dire plight of many ordinary Syrian people caught in the cross fire. Erlich explains how, after colonization by the British and the French and later becoming a focal point of political intrigue by numerous international powers, the region became increasingly volatile and dangerous. He also provides insights into both the past and the present roles of the Kurds, the continuing influence of Iran, and the policies of American administrations that seem interested only in protecting US regional interests, even at the expense of innocent Syrian civilians.

Disturbing, compelling, and enlightening, this timely book—now with a new epilogue with the latest information— shows not only what is happening inside Syria but why it is so important for the Middle East, the United States, and the world.

Reese Erlich (Oakland, CA) is an award-winning journalist and the author of several books on foreign policy. A full- time freelance journalist and special correspondent, he recently reported for both CBS Radio and GlobalPost from the Kurdish Region of Iraq, interviewing Yazidis and Kurdish peshmerga and analyzing the US bombing campaign. Erlich also reports regularly for National Public Radio and Radio Deutsche Welle. His articles on the Middle East have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Atlantic Online, Foreign Policy, VICE News, and Vanity Fair Online. In 2012, the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California, gave Erlich an Explanatory Journalism Award for his radio documentary titled “Inside the Syrian Uprising.” In 2006 he shared a prestigious Peabody Award. For more information visit www.ReeseErlich.com.

336 pages • ISBN 9781633882355 • Paperback $18.00 • On Sale Date: September 20, 2016 Ebook ISBN 9781633882362 • Ebook $11.99

More praise for the Hardcover edition:

“An ambitious book on the Syrian civil war…. A well-documented introduction to Syrian politics…. The narrative is enriching and the reporting accurate.” —Political Science Quarterly

“Setting the current struggles in the context of the world powers that created Syria, Erlich demonstrates how the histories and dynamics of international struggles are indispensable for understanding the current realities.” —Tikkun Magazine

“For those who want to understand the roots of today’s civil war in Syria and Iraq… Erlich’s book is a must-read.” —International Socialist Review

“Informative…. A useful resource for journalists and general readers interested in disentangling the knotted problems of Syrian history and politics.” —Current History

“ Every time I read a Reese Erlich book I am astounded that this singular dogged investigator whom I traveled to Syria and Lebanon with always manages to meet and talk to more people in a region and amass a more comprehensive, in-depth view of a region’s politics than CNN, MSNBC, and the three major networks combined. Read this book and you will receive an in-depth, objective, and truly fair understanding of what is taking place in the Middle East at this moment. We need Reese Erlich in the mass media. He is a treasure , and his book is encyclopedic. I feel as if I’ve added points to my IQ by reading it.” —Peter Coyote, actor, author of Sleeping Where I Fall

“Reese Erlich has both studied the history of Syria and its neighbors and interviewed people on the ground— a stunning variety of them, high and low, including political enemies who would, if they had the chance, shoot each other on sight. The result is a deeply readable and informative book that is particularly wise about the economic undercurrents beneath what more-superficial writers see merely as political or religious tensions. A fine introduction to one of today’s most terrible tragedies.” —Adam Hochschild, author of To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918

336 pages • ISBN 9781633882355 • Paperback $18.00 • On Sale Date: September 20, 2016 Ebook ISBN 9781633882362 • Ebook $11.99