Do you believe this book?

Use this forum to discuss the February 2021 Book of the month, "Dream For Peace: An Ambassador Memoir" by Dr.Ghoulem Berrah
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Ria George
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Re: Do you believe this book?

Post by Ria George »

He sounds like a great man but this was quite perfect, maybe some of it is made up to sound intriguing but excellent work.
joynob24365
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Post by joynob24365 »

I think that the author is telling the truth. However, some parts sound like they are to good to be true. I'd say that they were embellished so that it can be more interesting.
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Post by markodim721 »

It is expected that the author will embellish the events a bit, in favor of the interestingness of the book itself.
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Shirley-Tome
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Post by Shirley-Tome »

I do believe that there are people who make everything they come across better. He is a very resilient man.
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Buk Nerd
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Post by Buk Nerd »

I think it's possible that everything happened just the way he claimed. I think his decision not to combine both failure and success stories in the memoir is why his tales may appear a little exaggerated since we know life just does not work that way. Where there's a rainbow, there's a storm.
"Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life." - Fernando Pessoa :techie-studyinggray:
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Post by car-mbz »

I read this book believing it contains the true events that occurred in his life with no exaggerations. I think I would also have to do my own research about the Dr. Berrah just to expand my knowledge. Thank you for bringing this up.
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Suzer6440 xyz
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Post by Suzer6440 xyz »

Absolutely ! He was successful and was proud of it! Now, are there some bias parts And exaggeration to it? I truly think so but I also think it’s more believable than not.
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SunVixen
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Post by SunVixen »

Perhaps some of the episodes were slightly embellished. But this was probably done in order to make the book more fun for the readers. Literature has its own nuances. But I think that basically the author was writing the truth about his life.
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Drianie
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Post by Drianie »

I agree that for the purposes of writing his life story, many of the obstacles or negative aspects might have been omitted. I think Dr. Berrah was skilled at what he did, and with the amount of work and effort he put into his endeavors, it's easy to imagine that he would be successful. I agree that some aspects are hard to fathom, like his role in Fidel's speech. However, he doesn't seem to have a reputation for lying or being a dishonest person, so I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, even if his accomplishments seem surreal at times.
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Post by TheMazeRunner »

I would say that 90% is true, and some stuff is added to make this book a bit 'spicy'.
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B Sheila Holt
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Post by B Sheila Holt »

As I read , I sort of had the feeling in an odd way that he was being portrayed as a male version of Mother Teresa maybe. I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but she was completely loyal, devoted, loving, kind, humble, etc and this is how he we see him in this book. Just my opinion, I just kind of saw similarities in them. But yes I believe the book for the most part. I too, feel some things could have been expounded on just for the story sake.
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Post by Atieno Magero »

While Dr Ghoulem's story is amazing, there were parts that I felt were exaggerated a bit. I agree with your sentiments some things seemed too good to be true.
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Kavita Shah
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Post by Kavita Shah »

He may have added it to Make it a better story. The truth cannot be as peaceful as we wish it to be. I am convinced that there were exaggerated parts in the books as one cannot help but be biased while writing stories. And past events are memories which one replays and every time each replay happens some new information gets added to that past memory..so while writing it seems as if that which we remember is what had happened in the past.
Prabhat Sunil Mathur
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Post by Prabhat Sunil Mathur »

Yes, I completely agree with the book as I truly love the books based on Christianity and Life lessons. And this book is full of these ideologies!!
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Post by ROSEY-ANN »

I found the memoir believable. Dr.Berrah sought to give the truth about himself and those interactions he had with others that is mentioned in the book.

The specific aspect which made it believable was his mentioning his efforts in the liberation movements as a student which led to his incarceration. The author did not seek to portray a squeaky clean image of himself.

He also mentioned instances in which he encountered negative feedback from person as a result of positions he held.

For me the mention of his failed marriage also showed him as an everyday human being with struggles like all of us.

The book gives alot insight into the everyday tasks of diplomats some of which prior to reading this book I could only have imagined and so one had to take those aspects as a given. One really does know the truthfulness often until one experiences the same or have irrefutable proof that this is so.

On the whole the Dr. Berrah' s memoir was interesting and believable for me.
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