[A] blistering account ... Ghattas knows how to tell a cracking story ... Black Wave is a cri de coeur, an action-packed modern history written with the pace of a detective thriller -- Justin Marozzi * Sunday Times *
Fascinating ... Highly readable ... The publication of this book, Black Wave, could not be better timed -- James Barr, 'Book of the Week' * The Times *
Wonderfully readable ... A vivid, indispensable guide -- Ian Black, 'Book of the Week' * Observer *
A brilliant book, written with verve and style. It is not just essential reading, but thoroughly riveting as well. I could not put it down -- Peter Frankopan * author of The Silk Roads *
In this ambitious and highly readable book, Kim Ghattas tells the story of how Middle Eastern political and religious leaders betrayed their people. Her bold thesis that the events of 1979 scattered the seeds of destruction is revelatory and original. It is easy to despair but she finds hope too - only by understanding what happened can the next generation find a way forward -- Lindsey Hilsum * International Editor, Channel 4 News and author of In Extremis *
Vivid reporting, deep analysis. This is a fascinating and important book. Kim Ghattas tracks the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran as it pulled the Middle East and the wider Muslim world out of shape. Black Wave is essential reading if you want to understand why the region slid into religious extremism and blood-soaked sectarianism -- Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor and author of The Arab Uprisings
Skillfully written and scrupulously researched, Black Wave is an essential book in understanding the origins of the modern conflicts in the Middle East -- Lawrence Wright * Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower *
A brilliant piece of work. Ghattas reveals how the competition between Tehran and Riyadh led to the instrumentalization of Islam to destroy cosmopolitanism, force women to veil, and to mobilize sectarian extremists -- Emma Sky * Senior Fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute and author of In a Time of Monsters *
The framing of Black Wave is as important as the content. Kim Ghattas portrays the last four decades across the Middle East as a kind of Islamic Dark Ages, a world dimmed behind a curtain of violence, misogyny, and religious extremism. In exploring how this blackness came to be, she both reminds us of a brighter past and holds out the possibility of a future of light. It's a powerful and important book -- Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of the New America Foundation
Brilliant ... Reveals in masterful detail the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and its pernicious effect on the wider region, from 1979 to the present day - a sharp and sobering analysis -- Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Brutally honest, perfectly researched and brilliantly written ... A must-read for outsiders and people in the region -- Marwen Muasher, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former minister of foreign affairs of Jordan
A timely and welcome guide ... Well-researched and elegantly written, Black Wave focuses on the lives of a number of key individuals - from guerrilla fighters, revolutionary clerics and spy chiefs to Sufi leaders and journalists. * Financial Times *
Sweeping and authoritative ... Ghatta's narrative upends ... Western misconception * New York Times *
The book is packed with accounts of ambition, treachery and cruelty - with a wealth of historical detail down to the hour of the day... She serves up a wealth of human interest wrapped in ambience and atmosphere. She paints riveting portraits of the protagonists. * Wall Street Journal *
A compelling account of the entrenched rancour between two important countries in the Middle East. Emmy-winning journalist Ghattas details a depressing race to the bottom since 1979, but she also celebrates those courageously fighting for freedom in such a toxic environment. -- Books of the Month * Observer *
Profoundly moving ... There is a simmering anger not far below the surface of her book. It is a gripping tale. It is a tract for our times. Read and weep. But also, like Ghattas, allow yourself to hope. * New Statesman *
