Books like Crossing by Samar Yazbek

A sweeping, multi‑generational tale of African diasporas that follows a man who sells his children into slavery, a freed slave missionary in Liberia, a frontier pioneer woman, and an African‑American G.I. in World War II, all bound by the resonant, lyrical narrative of Caryl Phillips.

Drawing on the author's personal experience of living and working as an architect in Syria, this book offers an eyewitness perspective on the country's bitter conflict through the lens of architecture, showing how the built environment offers a mirror to the community that inhabits it. From Syria's tolerant past, with churches and mosques built alongside one another in Old Homs and members of different religions living harmoniously together, the book chronicles the recent breakdown of social cohesion in Syria's cities, with the lack of shared public spaces intensifying divisions within the community and corrupt officials interfering in town planning for their own gain, actions symptomatic of wider abuses of power. With first-hand accounts of mortar attacks and stories of refugees struggling to find a home, this compelling and original book explores the personal impact of the conflict and offers hope for how architecture can play a role in rebuilding a sense of identity within a damaged society.