Review of A Dream For Peace
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Alida Spies
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Review of A Dream For Peace
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Dream For Peace" by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah.]
This autobiography by Dr Ghoulem Berrah details his remarkable and fascinating life as an avid proponent of peace. Although he distinguished himself in dissimilar areas, e.g., medicine and science, in different countries, his first love was Africa and improving the lives of his fellow Africans. I am also a child of Africa, and the book conjured up many memories of the troubled times that this continent had faced.
Dr Berrah talks about his childhood in Algeria and how important education was to his mother. It was so important to her that she did not remarry after Ghoulem’s father passed away for fear that it would intrude on her mission to educate Ghoulem and her sister’s children.
As a child, the author was fascinated by the acrobatic riders at weddings, some lasting up to a week. He was also a great nature lover, as evidenced by his descriptions of the beautiful trees in Abidjan and President Houphouët-Boigny’s pet peacocks. After serious challenges, he married his soul mate, and they spent more than forty very happily married years. I loved that he referred to her as “my love.”
Dr Berrah was the first scientist to present a hypothesis stating that the discovery of an enzyme was necessary to accomplish transmission. Professor Howard Temin later identified this enzyme as the “reverse transcriptase enzyme.” This enzyme is a factor in enabling specific RNA viruses to induce certain forms of cancer. The author was a lecturer at Yale but resigned to join President Houphouët-Boigny in the Côte d’Ivoire as his Special Advisor. He grew very close to President Houphouët-Boigny and called him “Papa.” Dr Berrah and his wife, Titi, admired and loved the President. The President wholeheartedly reciprocated these feelings and saw Ghoulam and Titi as his children.
During the author’s tenure as Special Advisor, he engaged with many African countries, assisting in the struggle for decolonization and engaging with leaders regarding all forms of unfairness, e.g., fair wages, safe working conditions and access for all citizens to good education. He was close to historical figures such as Mao Zedong, Yasser Arafat, Golda Meir, Pope John Paul II and John Kennedy. He also played a significant role in the struggle to start a dialogue between Palestine and Israel. Ghoulem confessed that he had circled the world forty times before he retired to Denver in the USA.
I loved his approach to religion. He was a devout Muslim, while his wife was a Christian. He emphasized that we had to look for commonalities within different religions, not the differences. The foundation of all religion rests upon the concept of morality. He states in the book that the role of religion is to assist people to follow a better path, work for peace and be tolerant of one another. He and his wife supported each other in practicing their different religions. The author was appalled at the Muslim terrorist groups and the atrocities that they committed, but also the condemnation of all Muslims by the rest of the world as a result.
I also loved the insight that the author provided into behind-the-scenes events, which only a few insiders knew about before the publication of this book. He was an extraordinary diplomat who avoided embarrassing anybody but stated his point of view honestly and clearly. Leaders all over the world trusted him because of his honesty and straight talk.
The book provided a wealth of information about the history of Africa, especially after decolonization. It also provided insight into the personalities of various leaders, what inspired their decisions and behaviour and what they could have done differently. I recommend this book to everybody as it touches on many valuable insights and viewpoints. Although the book talks about religion quite extensively, even atheists can’t possibly take offence, as a result of the way that the author deals with religion and his “live and let live” approach to life.
There was nothing about this book that I disliked. It was well-written, fascinating and honest. The book was professionally edited, and I discovered only a few errors. The errors did not negatively affect my reading experience.
Based on the above, I rate this book 5 out of 5. It is quite a long book, but it’s worth spending the time to read it.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
This autobiography by Dr Ghoulem Berrah details his remarkable and fascinating life as an avid proponent of peace. Although he distinguished himself in dissimilar areas, e.g., medicine and science, in different countries, his first love was Africa and improving the lives of his fellow Africans. I am also a child of Africa, and the book conjured up many memories of the troubled times that this continent had faced.
Dr Berrah talks about his childhood in Algeria and how important education was to his mother. It was so important to her that she did not remarry after Ghoulem’s father passed away for fear that it would intrude on her mission to educate Ghoulem and her sister’s children.
As a child, the author was fascinated by the acrobatic riders at weddings, some lasting up to a week. He was also a great nature lover, as evidenced by his descriptions of the beautiful trees in Abidjan and President Houphouët-Boigny’s pet peacocks. After serious challenges, he married his soul mate, and they spent more than forty very happily married years. I loved that he referred to her as “my love.”
Dr Berrah was the first scientist to present a hypothesis stating that the discovery of an enzyme was necessary to accomplish transmission. Professor Howard Temin later identified this enzyme as the “reverse transcriptase enzyme.” This enzyme is a factor in enabling specific RNA viruses to induce certain forms of cancer. The author was a lecturer at Yale but resigned to join President Houphouët-Boigny in the Côte d’Ivoire as his Special Advisor. He grew very close to President Houphouët-Boigny and called him “Papa.” Dr Berrah and his wife, Titi, admired and loved the President. The President wholeheartedly reciprocated these feelings and saw Ghoulam and Titi as his children.
During the author’s tenure as Special Advisor, he engaged with many African countries, assisting in the struggle for decolonization and engaging with leaders regarding all forms of unfairness, e.g., fair wages, safe working conditions and access for all citizens to good education. He was close to historical figures such as Mao Zedong, Yasser Arafat, Golda Meir, Pope John Paul II and John Kennedy. He also played a significant role in the struggle to start a dialogue between Palestine and Israel. Ghoulem confessed that he had circled the world forty times before he retired to Denver in the USA.
I loved his approach to religion. He was a devout Muslim, while his wife was a Christian. He emphasized that we had to look for commonalities within different religions, not the differences. The foundation of all religion rests upon the concept of morality. He states in the book that the role of religion is to assist people to follow a better path, work for peace and be tolerant of one another. He and his wife supported each other in practicing their different religions. The author was appalled at the Muslim terrorist groups and the atrocities that they committed, but also the condemnation of all Muslims by the rest of the world as a result.
I also loved the insight that the author provided into behind-the-scenes events, which only a few insiders knew about before the publication of this book. He was an extraordinary diplomat who avoided embarrassing anybody but stated his point of view honestly and clearly. Leaders all over the world trusted him because of his honesty and straight talk.
The book provided a wealth of information about the history of Africa, especially after decolonization. It also provided insight into the personalities of various leaders, what inspired their decisions and behaviour and what they could have done differently. I recommend this book to everybody as it touches on many valuable insights and viewpoints. Although the book talks about religion quite extensively, even atheists can’t possibly take offence, as a result of the way that the author deals with religion and his “live and let live” approach to life.
There was nothing about this book that I disliked. It was well-written, fascinating and honest. The book was professionally edited, and I discovered only a few errors. The errors did not negatively affect my reading experience.
Based on the above, I rate this book 5 out of 5. It is quite a long book, but it’s worth spending the time to read it.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Hellfire & Holy Water by Jonie Nikole
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Anastasia Baglay
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Thank you for your honest review. I had some doubts about picking this book, but now I have more confidence.
