Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A fascinating book mixing history, current affairs, investigative journalism & personal experience as the author looks at the demise of the Christian populations throughout the Middle East.
I had no idea they were so persecuted or of the (to western eyes) dubious political decisions made over the past 40+ years.
Eye opening, shocking & incredibly readable

A harrowing, hard hitting and heart breaking account of the demise of Christianity in the very places it first grew and thrived. The only thing I'd say is that history, especially Church history, shows that God and his church cannot and will not be finally extinguished no matter the opposition and no matter the grim outlook. If anyone wanted an account of the challenges facing the church outside the west then this is the book to read and pray over what it reveals. One for the bookshelf.

Endgame

The position of Christians in the Moslem world has been precarious for decades, even centuries. Yet it might have been possible to say some thirty years ago that an equilibrium had been achieved, that an element of stability had emerged. The greatest danger to middle eastern Christians then was emigration not persecution. Not so anymore; not since the Arab Spring, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, the jihadi mentality, the fracture of long established state systems in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.

The author juxtaposes the death throes of the Christian faith in Iraq, Gaza and Syria with the strictures of the Covid pandemic. Her account is all the more convincing given her solid credentials as a war correspondent from some of the most dangerous countries and conflicts on Earth. Her account is all the more poignant given her own religious faith and inside knowledge of the countries and the people. Her experience of the Assyrian Plain churches both before and after ISIS is a revelation of desolation, an exposition of evil. Only in Egypt does there remain hope, but even there the future of millions of Coptic Christians remains on a knife edge.

A powerful piece of writing; a countdown to extinction.