This event is co-presented by the Elliott Bay Book Company and will be held at the Seattle Public Library (1000 Fourth Ave.) Level 4, Room 1. It is free of charge and open to the public.
Syrian-British writers Robin Yassin-Kassab and Leila Al-Shami will discuss their new book Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War, which the journalist Hassan Hassan says is "poised to become the definitive book not only on the continuing Syrian conflict but on the country and its society as a whole."
Burning Country is a vivid and groundbreaking look at a modern-day political and humanitarian nightmare. It explores the horrific and complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists.
These stories are expertly interwoven with a trenchant analysis of the brutalisation of the conflict and the militarisation of the uprising, of the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of governments in Syria and elsewhere in exacerbating those violent processes.
Robin Yassin-Kassab is the author of the novel The Road from Damascus and a contributor to the anthology Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline. He writes frequently for The Guardian and Al Jazeera English, among other outlets. He is a co-editor of the blog PULSE (http://pulsemedia.org/).
Leila Al-Shami has worked with the human rights movement in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. She was a founding member of Tahrir-ICN, a network that aims to connect anti-authoritarian struggles across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. She blogs at https://leilashami.wordpress.com/.
Copies of Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War will be available for sale and the authors will sign copies.
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