Libya is coming in from the cold, but for most of the three decades following the 1969 revolution, the country was labelled a pariah state by the West. Dirk Vandewalle, one of only a handful of western scholars to visit during the time, is intimately acquainted with the country. This history - based on original research and his interviews with Libya's political elite - offers a lucid account of Libya's past, and corrects some of the misunderstandings about its present. The author takes the story from the 1900s, through the Italian occupation, the Sanusi monarchy and Qadhafi's self-styled revolution. The final chapter is devoted to the events which brought Libya back into the international fold. As the first comprehensive history of Libya over the last two decades, this book will be welcomed by students of the region, professionals and those who are visiting Libya for the first time.