Tab Article

Ratings: ★★★★★ (4.8 / 5)
Genre: History, Political Science, Sri Lankan Studies, Military History, Terrorism Studies

Book Review:
K.M. de Silva is one of Sri Lanka's most distinguished historians, and in Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE, he brings his formidable expertise to bear on the most traumatic chapter in the island's modern history. The result is a comprehensive, authoritative, and deeply insightful study of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its eventual defeat.

This book is far more than a simple narrative of the war. De Silva turns his spotlight on the LTTE itself—its emergence, its evolution, its strategies, and its role in Sri Lanka's upheavals over the last few decades. He traces the complex path that led from the group's origins to its catastrophic collapse, exploring along the way the intricate relationship between the so-called ''moderates'' in Sri Lankan Tamil politics and the terrorist groups that claimed to represent them.

What emerges is a layered portrait of the dynamics of Sri Lanka's political system. De Silva shows how the LTTE was not an isolated phenomenon but was deeply embedded in the island's political landscape. He examines the international dimensions of the conflict, the responses of successive governments, and the factors that ultimately led to the military defeat of one of the world's most sophisticated terrorist organizations.

Extensively researched and loaded with perceptive insights, Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE is the most wide-ranging analysis so far on the LTTE and its violent legacy. It is an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand not just the war, but the country that emerged from it.

This special edition, published for sale in Sri Lanka only, is a testament to the importance of de Silva's work for the nation he has spent a lifetime studying. For students, scholars, policymakers, and general readers alike, this book is indispensable.