In this book, the distinguished scholar Hanna Batatu presents a comprehensive analysis of the recent social, economic, and political evolution of Syria's peasantry, the segment of society from which the current holders of political power stem. Batatu focuses mainly on the twentieth century and, in particular, on the Ba th movement, the structures of power after the military coup d' tat of 1963, and the era of vfiz al-Asad, Syria's first ruler...