This history traces Libya back to the 1900s with a portrait of Libya's desert terrain, its peoples and the personalities that shaped its development. It then examines the years of the Italian occupation in the early twentieth century, through the Sanusi monarchy and, thereafter, to the revolution of 1969 and the accession of Muammar Qadhafi. The following chapters analyse the economics and politics of Qadhafi's revolution, offering insights into the man and his ideology as reflected in his Green Book. Now in 2011, as Qadhafi fights for his political life in a savage war against his rebel countrymen, the time is ripe for an updated edition of the history which will cover the years from 2003 to the present. This was the period when Libya finally came in from the cold after years of political and economic isolation. The agreement to give up the weapons of mass destruction program paved the way for improved relations with the west. By this time, though, Qadhafi had lost the support of his people and, despite attempts to liberalize the economy, real structural reform proved impossible. This, as Vandewalle contends in the foreward to the new edition, coupled with tribal rivalries, regional division and a general lack of unity, paved the way for revolution and civil war. In an epilogue, the author reflects upon Qadhafi's premiership, the Green Book's stateless society and the legacy that he will leave behind him-- from publisher.

Includes maps of: General Map of Libya; Ethnic and Tribal Map of Libya; Economic Activity

1. 'A tract which is wholly sand...' Herodotus -- 2. Italy's fourth shore and decolonization, 1911-1950 -- 3. The Sanusi monarchy as accidental state, 1951-1969 -- 4. A Libyan sandstorm: from monarchy to republic, 1969-1973 -- 5. The Green Book's stateless society, 1973-1986 -- 6. The limits of revolution, 1986-2000 -- 7. From reconciliation to civil war, and fin de régime, 2003-2011 -- Epilogue: whither Libya?.