Review of A Dream For Peace

[Nyam Bura]

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Dream For Peace" by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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A Dream for Peace is a memoir about the life of Algerian diplomat Dr. Ghoulem Berrah. He was born and raised in Algeria. While young, he had to deal with racism in school. This fueled his determination to see his country break free from its colonizers. He went to further his studies in Bordeaux, France. At the university, he met like-minded individuals, and he became an activist. Did he ever achieve his goal?

I could not help but fall in love with Berrah’s mother. She was a dedicated woman who did everything she could to make sure that her son grew up to be a responsible person. You can tell that Berrah inherited her fear of God.

There were so many things I loved in the book. Berrah’s character is admirable. He is a prayerful person, and he respects individuals who do not share his religious beliefs. This is very rare in today's world. I loved the pictures too. They reminded me a lot about the history of Africa and some former prominent people. I liked that most of them were colored.

This book is informative. I learned a lot from the life of Berrah, and I will always keep this quote with me. "The day all humans embrace wisdom and learn to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and do unto others as one would do unto oneself; the day we master and control our sordid instincts and restrain ourselves from selfishness and self-centeredness—that will be the day we would have come full circle. On that fateful day, the generosity, the nobility of the soul, and the meaning of humanity would have reached a pinnacle of excellence and ushered forth the golden rule for a purposeful existence."

On the negative side, the length of the book is intimidating. I feel that it would help if the book was divided into a series covering different themes that the author highlights, like politics, science, religion, and marriage.

The book is well-edited. I only came across one grammatical error. I, therefore, feel that it deserves a perfect rating of four out of four stars.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading memoirs about activists. Also, those interested in learning about the political history of Algeria and a bit of its culture would benefit from reading this memoir. If you are interested in the stories of colonialism in African countries, this book is for you.

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A Dream For Peace
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