Since Qaddafi's ousting in 2011, Libya has been beset by instability and conflict. To understand the tumultuous state of the country today, one must look to its past. With great clarity and precision, renowned regional expert Ronald Bruce St John examines Libya's long struggle to establish its political and economic identity amidst the interference of external actors keen to exploit the country's strategic importance.

This authoritative history spans the time of the early Greek settlements, colonization by Mussolini's Italy, Qaddafi's four decades of rule and the internal rivalries that...