Review of A Dream For Peace
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Eriny Youssef
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Review of A Dream For Peace
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Dream For Peace" by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah.]
I started reading A Dream For Peace with a sense of hesitation that is now embarrassing to admit. My reluctance stemmed from not being familiar with the subject of the biography—again, not a proud moment for me. Algerian by nationality and driven by a deep passion for Africa, Dr. Ghoulem Berrah was a political activist during his college years in France, a scientist during his studies in the United States of America, an Ivorian diplomat, and a designated advisor for Côte d'Ivoire's president, Houphouët-Boigny. All around, he was an empathetic server of humanity, justice, and peace.
A Dream For Peace narrates the story of this remarkable diplomat penned by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah himself. The chapters follow a general chronological timeline, occasionally punctuated by flashbacks or glimpses into future events. As a reader, one can anticipate a substantial amount of historical, political, and cultural content, given the nature of the author's career. However, the cultural aspects that will pique your interest proved to be even more diverse than expected. This is understandable, given that Dr. Berrah has circled the globe more than once during his life. His personal, familial, and love lives are also discussed at length.
One of the best qualities of this book lies in how vividly you can capture the author's soul through his writing. You can begin to understand his personality and his values just from the way the book was written. I also found it quite impressive that the author included numerous pictures that you wouldn't have seen elsewhere. He also revealed many interesting facts and backstage details that made the reading experience all the more exciting.
Judging this book for its negative aspects is challenging. However, as a fast reader who spent more time reading the book than initially intended, I would say that the book's readability can be improved. This may not affect biography readers, but it may pose a challenge to other readers. For example, the chapters are quite lengthy and lack dividers, making it difficult to find natural pauses. This issue could have been mitigated by excluding irrelevant details from the chapters (an example of this is the eleventh chapter where irrelevant trips taken by the author and his wife were discussed). Additionally, section breaks, dinkuses, or other means of fragmenting the narration could have been employed.
The point discussed in the previous paragraph doesn't take away from the book's quality and significance. Hence, I give A Dream For Peace a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. It seems to have been professionally edited as well. The text flowed easily, and the language fitted perfectly with the subject at hand. I only found four minor errors throughout the text.
This book should appeal to lovers of political biographies, particularly those interested in Africa, the Arab World, and the Middle East. It was such an overwhelming journey of a great man with a rich story that deserves to be told and definitely deserves to be read.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I started reading A Dream For Peace with a sense of hesitation that is now embarrassing to admit. My reluctance stemmed from not being familiar with the subject of the biography—again, not a proud moment for me. Algerian by nationality and driven by a deep passion for Africa, Dr. Ghoulem Berrah was a political activist during his college years in France, a scientist during his studies in the United States of America, an Ivorian diplomat, and a designated advisor for Côte d'Ivoire's president, Houphouët-Boigny. All around, he was an empathetic server of humanity, justice, and peace.
A Dream For Peace narrates the story of this remarkable diplomat penned by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah himself. The chapters follow a general chronological timeline, occasionally punctuated by flashbacks or glimpses into future events. As a reader, one can anticipate a substantial amount of historical, political, and cultural content, given the nature of the author's career. However, the cultural aspects that will pique your interest proved to be even more diverse than expected. This is understandable, given that Dr. Berrah has circled the globe more than once during his life. His personal, familial, and love lives are also discussed at length.
One of the best qualities of this book lies in how vividly you can capture the author's soul through his writing. You can begin to understand his personality and his values just from the way the book was written. I also found it quite impressive that the author included numerous pictures that you wouldn't have seen elsewhere. He also revealed many interesting facts and backstage details that made the reading experience all the more exciting.
Judging this book for its negative aspects is challenging. However, as a fast reader who spent more time reading the book than initially intended, I would say that the book's readability can be improved. This may not affect biography readers, but it may pose a challenge to other readers. For example, the chapters are quite lengthy and lack dividers, making it difficult to find natural pauses. This issue could have been mitigated by excluding irrelevant details from the chapters (an example of this is the eleventh chapter where irrelevant trips taken by the author and his wife were discussed). Additionally, section breaks, dinkuses, or other means of fragmenting the narration could have been employed.
The point discussed in the previous paragraph doesn't take away from the book's quality and significance. Hence, I give A Dream For Peace a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. It seems to have been professionally edited as well. The text flowed easily, and the language fitted perfectly with the subject at hand. I only found four minor errors throughout the text.
This book should appeal to lovers of political biographies, particularly those interested in Africa, the Arab World, and the Middle East. It was such an overwhelming journey of a great man with a rich story that deserves to be told and definitely deserves to be read.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Yesterday by Samyann
