Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia : The Tragedy of Longevity

Annotation President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia was an Arab leader greatly admired in the West for his moderation and level headedness. He led his small country to independence after a prolonged struggle against the French coloniser. He suffered long periods of deprivation and imprisonment before he acceded to supreme rule. His country has much to thank him for but he ruled too long and ended his reign in the tragedy of senility and absolutism. This book is a sympathetic study of a long and fascinating life President Habib Bourguiba Of Tunisia Was An Arab Leader Much Admired In The West For His Moderation And Pragmatism. He Was Regarded As A Center Of Stability In A Volatile Middle East. The Man Himself Was A Fascinating Mixture Of A Traditional Arab Muslim Background And A Deep Immersion Into French Culture. He Spent The First Part Of His Life Struggling Against The French Colonizer, Then After Independence Became Head Of A Small North African State. The First Years Of His. Rule Were A Period Of Progress And Development For Tunisia, When He Made His Name And That Of His Country Respected Throughout The World. But He Stayed Too Long, And By The End Was Lost In Senility, Absolutism And Incompetence. His Is, Nevertheless, A Fascinating Life And The Present Biography Is A Sympathetic Study Of The Man, His Achievements And Failures. 1. Early Days. Childhood & School, 1901-24. Poor Student In Paris, 1924-27 -- 2. Struggle For Independence. In Tunis Until The First Arrest, 1927-34. First Experience Of Prison, 1934-36. Interlude Of Freedom, 1936-38. Under Arrest A Second Time, 1938-43. Life Abroad, 1943-48. Interlude Of Freedom, 1948-52. Third Imprisonment And Return Home, 1952-55 -- 3. Tunisia Under Bourguiba -- 4. Decline And Fall. Removal -- 5. Bourguiba The Man. The Complexity Of Bourguiba. Death, A Lifelong Obsession. Illness, The Constant Companion. All Tunisia's A Stage. Family Relations. The Tug Of Islam. To Be Arab Or French? -- 6. The Changing Of Names, The Unfolding Of Statues. Derek Hopwood. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 155-156) And Index. President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia was an Arab leader much admired in the West for his moderation and pragmatism. He was regarded as a center of stability in a volatile Middle East. The man himself was a fascinating mixture of a traditional Arab Muslim background and a deep immersion into French culture. He spent the first part of his life struggling against the French colonizer, then after independence became head of a small North African state. The first years of his rule were a period of progress and development for Tunisia, when he made his name and that of his country respected throughout the world. But he stayed too long, and by the end was lost in senility, absolutism and incompetence. His is, nevertheless, a fascinating life and the present biography is a sympathetic study of the man, his achievements and failures. -- from http://www.barnesandnoble.com (March 18, 2014) Front Matter....Pages i-x Early Days....Pages 1-28 Struggle for Independence....Pages 29-79 Tunisia under Bourguiba....Pages 80-94 Decline and Fall....Pages 95-105 Bourguiba the Man....Pages 106-143 The Changing of Names, the Unbolting of Statues....Pages 144-148 Back Matter....Pages 149-159