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Benghazi!

A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

Now available

In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the attack in Benghazi, a noted Libya expert and eyewitness to the attack provides a startling reconsideration of one of the defining controversies of our era.

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Praise for BENGHAZI!

One of New Lines Magazine Best Books of 2022 (read article)

“Benghazi! is likely the definitive treatment of the attack and scandal… Ethan Chorin is a master storyteller who skillfully weaves anecdotes and personal experiences to incisively analyze the attack on Benghazi and its lasting repercussions.”
—Dr. Ronald Bruce St. John, in Middle East Policy

“As a former investigator for the Benghazi Committee, I found Chorin’s Benghazi! a compelling read… Ethan Chorin is right: the tragic deaths of four Americans in Benghazi were the main act in a highly destructive outbreak of American partisan warfare, which left key questions unanswered and pushed the country down a slippery slide of polarization and risk aversion abroad. It shouldn’t have been this way. In contrast to this political theater, Chorin offers a refreshing fact-based analysis with breadth, depth, and new information.”
—Professor Bradley Podliska, US Air Command and Staff College

“Very well written exploration of what happened in Benghazi from a former diplomat who was in the city the night the conflagration happened. It’s part memoir, part cultural history, part forensic accounting.”
—Roxane Gay, New York Times Bestselling author

“Anyone with a serious interest in Libya, or anyone looking for examples of how partisan politics has affected our conduct of foreign relations in the current century, will find Ethan Chorin’s Benghazi! an excellent case study…[Chorin] has written a very personal account, but in the process has identified several issues of interest to anyone dealing with our nation’s foreign affairs who is concerned with our reputation and influence in the world.”
—Ambassador Charles O. Cecil, Foreign Service Journal

“The complexity that surrounds Benghazi is presented in all its nuance, yet the author’s commanding prose helps to guide readers smoothly through the frenzied series of events…. Over the course of this book, Chorin provides a harrowing personal perspective on the fateful day, with a number of salient details readers won’t find elsewhere…. [Benghazi!] balances remarkable depth with an engaging narrative.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“In Benghazi! Ethan Chorin skillfully unravels the many complex and confounding narratives around an event which had momentous repercussions on domestic US politics. His book is powerful testament to both America’s fractured identity and its diminished influence in the Middle East.”
—Francis Ghilès, Arab Digest

Read all reviews

About Ethan Chorin

Ethan Chorin is a former diplomat, senior political analyst, and author. His work on Libya, the Middle East, and Iran has appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Forbes, Newsweek, and many other outlets. He has been a regular commentator on Libya for the BBC, and has also appeared on CNBC, CNN, CBS, and C-SPAN.

Praise for Ethan’s other books

“A firsthand account of the fall of Gaddafi and the processes that caused it… While Libya’s revolt appears to have erupted suddenly, Chorin ably demonstrates how failed policies of the past contributed to its inevitability… A strongly written book that sheds new light on a still-developing story.”
—Kirkus Reviews on Exit the Colonel

“Anyone who wants to better understand Libya’s complexities, past and present, could do no better than to approach them through the short stories included in the second edition of Translating Libya, and the new introduction to them. Chorin’s perspective is both fascinating and extremely relevant.”
—Prof. Robert Springborg, King’s College, London on Translating Libya

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Photo Credit: Sohail Nakhooda