Review of A Dream For Peace

Fareed Regal · Post by **Fareed Regal** » 14 Sep 2022, 05:13

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

4 out of 4 stars

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Imagine one man being a medical doctor, a lawyer, a medical scientist, a university lecturer in medical science, a political activist, an author, and a political consultant to the president of a country. This man is Dr. Ghoulem Berrah, who is the author and narrator of his memoirs contained in A Dream For Peace.

Berrah was born into a devout Muslim family, in rural Algeria, at a time when the country was still under French rule. After completing his schooling in Algeria he pursued his medical studies at a university in France. During this time he became involved in starting a student union of North African students who were all committed to seeing their countries de-colonized and free of European oppression. These activities would eventually land him in prison in Spain, together with his first wife, Antoinette. As a result of getting a scholarship, he went to America to study medical science. It was here that he got involved in becoming an acclaimed scientist and a few years later a lecturer at Yale University.

Through all the occupation with academia, Berrah stayed involved with his pursuit of independence for the still colonized countries on the African continent. More and more, he realized that the way to achieve this was via dialogue and peaceful negotiation. For this reason, he decided to accept an offer from the president of the Ivory Coast to become his political advisor as they both shared a passion for peace in the world, and not just in Africa. He ended up becoming a citizen of the Ivory Coast as it was the least he could do for the man who had become his mentor, father figure, and friend.

Whilst reading the book I had to keep reminding myself that this was his memoirs I was reading, and not a political suspense novel. It was fascinating to be taken behind the scenes and given a first-hand account of the interactions between the powerful political leaders of countries. Berrah also gives us an inside look at the role played by religious entities in shaping the future of countries. Together with an Archbishop of the Christian faith, he embarked on a project to build a mosque and church side by side in the Ivory Coast. This was to symbolize their belief that there was but one Divine God that we all pray to in different ways. This belief Berrah lived every day as he was married to the true love of his life, a devout Catholic lady. Yes, the genre of romance is even woven into his memoirs. This is no ordinary chronicle of someone’s life journey but the exploits of a truly remarkable man who stayed true to his principles whilst pursuing his dream of peace for all. By adding pictures of himself, with family, friends, political and religious leaders, and places he had been to, Berrah not just validated his authenticity but also pulled readers closer to the encounters he was sharing.

There was nothing that I disliked about the book and I only found two errors to report on. This convinces me that the book was very well edited and deserves a rating of four out of four stars. I would recommend this book to adult readers who have an interest in politics, religion, history, and autobiographies. Although the narrative does contain many pages that relate to religion, it is not offensive, or biased, toward any one religion. I found it to be an acceptance that there are many different religions in the world and that there is a place for all of them.

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A Dream For Peace
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MsH2k · Post by **MsH2k** » 19 Oct 2022, 19:26

Dr. Berrah lived a truly amazing life. I can understand how one would be tempted to forget this was an account of an actual person. I have this book on my list to read, and I look forward to finding out more about this remarkable man. Thank you for your excellent review and inspiration to move this book up on my list!

Fareed Regal · Post by **Fareed Regal** » 21 Oct 2022, 13:12

MsH2k wrote: ↑19 Oct 2022, 19:26 Dr. Berrah lived a truly amazing life. I can understand how one would be tempted to forget this was an account of an actual person. I have this book on my list to read, and I look forward to finding out more about this remarkable man. Thank you for your excellent review and inspiration to move this book up on my list!

Without dropping any spoilers.....there are some interesting aspects regarding the USA in the book that I think you will enjoy reading about. I am glad you have it on your list.

Many thanks for providing feedback.