What to read for background on Libya? The shelves of English-language libraries and bookstores are not exactly crammed with options. However, there are a handful of works — from histories to fiction to travel literature — that offer a good general grounding in the country’s background and culture. Here, at least for starters, are some interesting suggestions.
1. “Libya Since Independence: Oil and State-Building” by Dirk J. Vandewalle
This 1998 book by Dartmouth professor of government Dirk Vandewalle offers a solid and insightful history of Libya in the second half of the 20th century. Vandewalle, who is considered by many a leading expert on the topic of contemporary Libya, is also the author of the 2007 book “A History of Modern Libya.”
2. “Libya: From Colony to Independence” by Ronald Bruce St. John
For a broader view of Libyan history, this comprehensive overview by academic Ronald Bruce St. John stretches back to the 5th century BC and continues on through an examination of the Qaddafi regime.
3. “Desert Encounter” by Knud Holmboe
If you’re curious about the Italian occupation of Libya (which lasted from the 1910s until 1947), there are a couple of interesting options. “Desert Encounter” by Knud Holmboe is a memoir by a Dane who tried to travel across the Libyan desert in the 1930s and got caught in the fighting between the Italian occupying force and the Libyans. Holmboe is not exactly an unbiased source (a convert to Islam he eventually fought on the side of the Libyan resistance), but his book has gained fame as a first-hand account of an under-reported piece of history.
4. “A Cure for Serpents” by Alberto Denti di Pirajno
Another book offering details about life in colonial-era Libya is “A Cure for Serpents” by Alberto Denti di Pirajno. Pirajno spent 18 years working as a doctor in Libya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somaliland and wrote with warmth about his experiences in this memoir.
5. “In the Country of Men” by Hisham Matar
This powerful novel by Libyan-born author Hisham Matar tells the story of a 9-year-old Libyan who one day sees his best friend’s father arrested and shoved into a car on the streets of Tripoli. Then his own father disappears.
The novel, which is set in 1979 and was short-listed for a Man Booker Prize in 2006, offers a compelling glimpse of life in Libya under Qaddafi. Monitor reviewer Yvonne Zipp called the book “a knockout — emotionally wrenching and gorgeously written.”
6. “Translating Libya: The Modern Libyan Short Story” by Ethan Chorin
This short story collection is another interesting option for learning about contemporary Libya through fiction. Chorin, who was a US Commercial/Economic Attache in Libya, has put together 17 short stories about life in Libya, almost all of which are written by Libyan authors.
7. “South from Barbary” by Justin Marozzi
Marozzi made a 1,500-mile journey by camel across the Libyan Sahara in an attempt to retrace old slave-trade routes. His account of this trip includes a look backward at Libya’s history and also a window into life today in some of the country’s most farflung outposts.
