''Escape to Hell and Other Stories'' is a collection of essays by

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

, published in English translation in 1989. It was translated from a 1996 French version of the text derived from the original

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

version. It contains an introduction written by journalist Pierre Salinger. The book has been described as "a grab-bag of short essays, allegories, commentary pieces and bits of abstract thought on religion and politics." Gaddafi's style has been called heavily "

sarcastic Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflection ...

" and

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

in tone.

References

1989 non-fiction books Books by Muammar Gaddafi Essay collections Libyan literature {{Essay-stub