Asad of Syria

Part 1 The revolutionary: coming down the mountain; the French legacy; party school and army college; the peasant's revolt; the Cairo conspiracy; capturing the state; capturing the party; blindly to the brink; the six day walkover; the fight to the top; the Black September fiasco. Part 2 The leader: Asad's state; Sadat, the unsound enemy; the October illusion; duel with Henry Kissinger; the year things fell apart; the Lebanese trap; Jimmy Carter's false dawn; the enemy within; standing alone; ally of the Ayatollah; battle with Menachem Begin; the defeat of George Shultz; the brothers' war; forging a nation; dirty tricks; conclusions - the balance sheet.