Review by Skwiggle -- A Dream For Peace

[Skwiggle]

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Dream For Peace" by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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A Dream for Peace: An Ambassador’s Memoir, by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah is a story about the history of post-colonial Africa, written by a man of many talents. Dr. Berrah was a son, husband, ambassador, scientist, diplomat, freedom fighter, and peace seeker. He dedicated his life to the pursuit of peace among all nations and people. He was an only son, raised by his mother during the colonisation of Algeria by the French. As he focused his attention on his education, he discovered fellow young men who were passionate about seeing Algeria free and this became his calling, expanding outwards to a desire to see all African nationalities free as well.

Dr. Berrah provides a unique perspective into history. His experience as a diplomat and a devout Muslim married to a Catholic woman sheds the events in a different light to something that we would read in a history book. It feels more personal because we are viewing the world through his eyes. The way the book is written helps the reader to understand more about what life must have been like, and to feel involved in the process of figuring out how to change things for the better. I like how the chapters are written almost like separate stories, this means that you can choose a chapter you are interested in from the contents and read it without having missed anything from the previous chapters.

The only negative point is that I wish some of the images were a little clearer and brighter. They are important for understanding the events properly, thus it was a shame that a few were a bit pixelated or dark.

I would give this book 4 out of 4 stars. The book is an interesting read, though not something I would normally choose. The book looks professionally edited and flows well. It is nice to see an example of a man practicing what he preaches, so to speak. He wanted peace and harmony for everyone, and he showed how this could work in his personal life by marrying a woman of a different religion to his own. He accepted her faith and would accompany her to Mass, and she accepted his faith and would fast with him on Ramadan. He wanted to show that we can accept each other, no matter what our differences are.

I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in religion, politics, African history, or memoirs.

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A Dream For Peace
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