SOCIAL SCIENCES

Long Shot

by Azad
Atlantic Monthly. Feb. 2019. 416p. ISBN 9780802129079. $26; ebk. ISBN 9780802146892. AUTOBIOG
COPY ISBN
In this autobiography, set mostly in the fall of 2014, Iran-born Kurdish journalist Azad describes being swept up in the chaotic events of the Syrian civil war as it spread into his home region of Rojava and its chief city of Kobanî. Azad relays how he became a sniper for Kurdish forces opposing ISIS, recounting in impressive detail his grim work as he fought from house to house, street to street, and, at times, room to room against ISIS troops besieging Kobanî. Azad's tale is not for the fainthearted, as he painfully relates through his own work what war is at its most basic level: death and carnage. For Americans who live comfortably in safe dwellings, Azad's story demonstrates that for many in the Middle East, there is little safety and comfort.
VERDICT A remarkable account of a devastating, ongoing conflict; for most collections.
Reviewed by Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames , Feb 01, 2019
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