Days of Love and Rage

Anand Gopal's Days of Love and Rage draws on years of on-the-ground reporting to tell the story of ordinary Syrians who sought to build a freer society amid the brutality of the civil war.

Focusing especially on the city of Manbij, Gopal traces how diverse revolutionary leaders and movements attempted to govern, the social and political fractures that emerged, and how external interventions shaped the conflict's course.

The book explores the human costs of prolonged war while examining how ideals of freedom, market reforms, and competing ideologies interacted.

Gopal situates local experiences within broader regional and international dynamics, showing how foreign powers influenced outcomes and how Syrians adapted to shifting realities.

The work offers both narrative depth and analysis about the limits and possibilities of revolutionary politics in wartime.