Dirk J. Vandewalle, A History of Modern Libya. Cambridge University Press, 2006
“…For most of the three decades following Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi’s self-styled revolution in 1969, Libya was politically isolated and labelled a pariah state. Dirk Vandewalle, one of only a handful of Western scholars to visit the country during this time, is intimately acquainted with Libya. He offers a lucid and comprehensive account of Libya’s past, and corrects some of the misunderstandings about its present … As the first comprehensive history of Libya over the last two decades, this book will be welcomed by scholars and students of North Africa, the Middle East, and by those who are visiting and doing business in the region. “ Excerpted from the publisher description