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"A vivid picture of the crushing difficulties faced by everyArab government."--KirkusReviewsThe security of theWestis threatened by escalatingturmoil rising out ofthe Arabstates is Lebanon, a small, torturedcountry poised uneasilybetween East and West. Improbably, this most unique of Arab states hasmuch to teach about the Arabworld. Like manyArab little sense of common identity andno strongcentralgovernment.

The tumultuous history of Lebanon illuminates notonly the challenges that Arabs pose to themselves butalso the fear and hostility thatarise in response to perceived threats from the West. Awareness and understandingcircumstances and pressures arethe first steps toward resolution, cooperation, and solidity on all sides.

Customer Reviews (6)

Informative and Well written
McKay does a great job breaking down the complexities of the Arab World and explaining the challenges that await it in the future.She does this by exploring the great trajedy that has befallen Lebanon in the last century and analyzing the roots of the conflict.The book is clear in its style and easy to understand and enjoyable to read.Excellent for both those who have little knowledge of the region and for those who studied the region in detail.

Ex-Arabist brought up to date
As someone who lived in Beirut in the early sixties and has lost touch with the country, I found Mackey extremely helpful in putting all subsequent events into perspective without taking sides except against the selfish elites who have ruined the country over and over again.

Tarik
I found this book very good at pointing to the complexities in dealing with the "identity" question that is very active in both East and West. I am a Lebanese-American from south Lebanon and serve in the US Armed Forces. In reading this book I couldn't help but laugh (in a good way) at the similarities between what the author describes in it and the personalities I am force to accept. Her ability to dissect the shades of chemistry in culture, politics, and economics is Eye-POPING!!! Any one interested in culture and conflict management in; or the recent history of, the Middle East must read this book.

for the basic understanding of Lebanese affairs is a great read
Sandra shows in this book a comand in Lebanese affairs, so this is a great read for people traying to understand the actual Lebanon.

Too much focus on israel and not enough on Lebanon
To read this book is to come to beleive that everything that has taken place in Lebanon has something to do with Israel.While this may be the propoganda of Hizbullah it hardly meets with reality.The author begins by claiming the American invasion of Iraq was designed to 'protest Israel without forcing Tel Aviv to address Palestinian rights.'Unfortunatly there is no evidence for this in scholarly form or from media or government broadcasts in 2003.It is a claim out of the mouth of a conspiracy theorist.The obsession with Israel takes away from any context in the book.In desscribing the rise of the Phalange the book seeks to see it entirely from the viewpoint of Israel, whereas the Phalange and its heritage in Peirre Gemayel go back to the 1930s, long before Israel.The author attributes the Israeli invasion in 1982 entirely to an alliance between Bashir Gemayel and Israel which was only slightly true.Begin indeed wanted to save the only non-Muslim neighbor Israel had and he enjoyed the idea of helping beleagured Christians but the author seems to ignore that Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel preceeded the invasion, as did the killing of an Israeli diplomat.The author seems to have forgotten the mini-state Arafat created in Lebanon.

These blatent omissions make the rest of the material in the book suspect.How can one know what to trust.The history of Lebanon is interesting and there are nuggets of interest in this book, but the strange political interpretations and selective memory of the author and the failure to focus on Lebanese culture, for instance the Druze and Greek-Orthodox and Armenians, and instead to make this book about Israel's role in Lebanon weakens it.Lebanon is not really a mirror of the Arab world either.It is entirely unique.

Seth J. Frantzman ... Read more

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Basic information on foreign and domestic policy, national security, political system, parties and elections, government and administrative structure. Participation in international organizations, treaties and regional unions.International and foreign policy and more. ... Read more

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Lebanon Government and Business Contacts Handbook ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good overview, incomplete analysis
This book deserves to be in print. Unfortunately, the truly detailed, play-by-play history of the Lebanese civil war has yet to be written. Petran views the conflict through a more or less traditional left lens, which is helpful in understanding some of the specifics of the war in the seventies and eighties, and in particular the rise and fall of Petran's hero Kamal Jumblatt. It also makes the book remarkably dated. You need more than socio-economic theory to understand the death of Lebanon, and this book does little to explain how important political Islam was even before its influence became obvious in the mid eighties. Conversely, her outrage at the Maronites and their atrocities doesn't help toward any understanding of how embattled the Maronites have always felt in Lebanon, and how that paranoia colored their actions then and continues to guide them now. Marxist theory is all well and good, but the people who actually fought the war would have scoffed at the notion that this was an economic struggle disguised as a sectarian one. The combatants really did see themselves involved in an existential religious war, and it might have helped if the author had taken them seriously. ... Read more

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With a new introduction by the author, a seminal study of Lebanon’s past, present, and future.With the West’s economic and security interests increasingly at stake in the Middle East, it is impossible to ignore Lebanon—a nation in all ways divided and tormented by the interplay between the West and the Arab world. Sandra Mackey delineates the multifarious culture that is Lebanon; carefully stripping away the complex stigmas of Lebanese politics, she brings each component into focus, priming readers on the conflicts between Sunni and Shia, Maronites and Druze, Christian and Muslim, Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Lebanon and Palestine, and Syria and Lebanon.

Covering Lebanon’s history through the civil war of 1975­89, and with a new introduction on recent developments, Mackey lays the groundwork needed to comprehend this often ill-understood country—offering insight into its role as the gateway between West and East, and bringing clarity of focus to the schisms that serve to divide and define Lebanon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Awful
The book is extremely well written, which gives it a sort of "feel good" sense about it. In that sense, it's not surprising that it's selling well, or it's getting excellent reviews from beginners who want to understand something about Lebanon. The author does an excellent job of captivating the reader.

Nonetheless, substance-wise, it's severly lacking. For one thing, there are statistics on pre-war Lebanon with no references, no sources, nothing. There are quotes without any mention of who actually wrote/said them, nevermind any references. It certainly does not conform to any shape of scholarly rigour. We are told in the introduction that there's a lot to talk about when it comes to Lebanon and so 'space must be saved.' Yet, in order to support her explanations of "Lebanese psyche", she uses such compelling evidence (note: sarcasm) as verbal disputes between drivers on the streets of Beirut or the answer of a single young boy about a question on arithmetics (of course we are spared any background information on the boy). The Maronite community is criticized for its 'unwarranted/desperate' needs to associate with the Phoenicians, yet the author has no trouble associating the Phoenicians' supposed lack of ethical conduct (again, no references) with current 'Lebanese behavior.' The underlying thesis of the book is that Arab culture, which is shared by all communities (we are told), is the root of Lebanon's problems because of its propensity for violence and conflict, and thus Lebanon is the key to understand all other Arab countries.

For a much better, academically-oriented, account of the divisions that plague Lebanon, I recommend Kamal Salibi's "A House of Many Mansions."

Great for the Novice
In Lebanon: A House Divided Sandra Mckay seeks paint a picture on how the pluralistic Lebanan that once was considered the jewel of the Middle East has fractured along religious lines and plunged the nation into fifteen years of civil war and political strife.She does an admirable job of sifting through the complex political history of the Lebanese Arabs and and explaining the state of the Lebanese in a simple straigt forward manner.She touches on many issues unknown to most in the West including the Mithraq (national pact) that has been the model of the Lebanese political system since 1943, the Maronites monopoly on the presidency, the Druze and their quasi-Islamic status, and the tribal animosity the afflict the nation.

For anyone who has not spent time studying Lebanon this is an excellent book for those who have a good background knowledge of the nation may find this book a little to shallow to spend their time on.

An Accessible History of the Lebanese Civil War
This is a highly-readable history of the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1988, that is actually much more.

In order to give the reader a better than superficial understanding of the warring factions, political personalities, and historical grievance that combined to spark a brutal war, the author goes back decades or centuries, as necessary, to explain the origins of Maronites, Orthodox, Sunnis, Muslims, Druze and Palestinians.As a result, when Mackey begins with the actual narrative of the civil war, even the beginning reader can follow the plot with little difficulty.As a result, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the Lebanese Civil War and the role of Lebanon in the greater Middle East.

Mackey's approach to introducing the warring factions, however, leads to confused chronology.Perhaps this is unavoidable; or perhaps the benefits of a more straightforward chronology would inevitably weaken the explanation of the different factions.Regardless, it may be hard for some readers to keep timelines straight as they continually jump back in time as new factions are introduced.Mackey aggravates the problem by sometimes failing to mention pertinent dates, even where doing so would not detract from the narrative.

This history often does not read like a history book.Mackey delights in inserting the occasional vignette, the anecdote about nameless actors that possibly captures a moment better than a rote recitation of names and dates.I enjoy the effect, but it serves to expand the text where it could otherwise be more streamlined, and a reader who is looking more for specific information (as for example the researcher or student) might find it tedious and unhelpful.

Also, because anecdotes are not inherently reliable evidence, they are only useful to the extent one trusts Mackey to have accurately interpreted the zeitgeist the anecdotes are intended to portray.Is Mackey sufficiently trustworthy?Unfortunately, because her sourcing is so weak, it is impossible to say.She has no footnotes.Her endnotes are sparse and often unhelpful.The Selected Bibliography is thin, and should have been grouped by subject matter.

In another departure from a straight history book, Mackey writes primarily to argue and defend her conclusions.Her goal is not just to say what has happened, and when why, but who is at fault, and the way things should have been done, and (by implication) how things should be done in the future.As with other issues observed in this review, I enjoyed Mackey's approach (even where I disagreed with her conclusions), but I see how a reader might find her emphasis on the didactic tedious or unhelpful, or both.This is especially likely for American conservatives or supporters of Israel: Mackey is virtually silent about Jimmy Carter, but has nothing good to say about Reagan, Thatcher or any Israeli.

The final problem is timeliness.The book was published in 1989.The new introduction is copyrighted in 2006, but the text has not been updated, and the introduction is only two pages.A purchaser who thinks he is getting a "new" book is reading material that is a decade old.

I recommend this book in spite of its weaknesses, but the reader should know what he is buying, and what he is not.

NOTE: If you find my review unhelpful, please tell me why in a comment.

excellent understanding of Lebanons "Wars'"
Mackeys Book "Lebanon A House Divided" gives an excellent easy
over view of the problems that have recked the Country for so
many years.A great read, May the Country of Lebanon find PEACE inside
its own borders.

Another hit for Mrs Mackey!!
This is the third book i read from Sandra Mackey (the Saudis and The Iranians are the other two).And this is another fantastic work for her.I love the clarity and well explained manner in which she explore the nation that is Lebanon and this is not an easy task.When you finish reading this book you have a very good understanding of the situation in Lebanon.As usual she describes every major political party and organization involved as well as the mindset of the people of Lebanon.Also she gives a great explanation as to the ramifications and involvement of other countries as the war rages in Lebanon.Just an excellent work! ... Read more

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By recasting the relationship between religion and nationalism in the Middle East, Roschanack Shaery-Eisenlohr proposes a new framework for understanding Shi'ite politics in Lebanon. Her study draws on a variety of untapped sources, reconsidering not only the politics of the established leadership of Shi'ites but also institutional and popular activities of identity production. Shaery-Eisenlohr traces current Shi'ite politics of piety and authenticity to the coexistence formula in Lebanon and argues that engaging in the discourses of piety and coexistence is a precondition to cultural citizenship in Lebanon. As she demonstrates, debates over the nature of Christianity and Islam and Christian-Muslim dialogue are in fact intertwined with power struggles at the state level.

Since the 1970s, debates in the transnational Shi'ite world have gradually linked Shi'ite piety with the support of the Palestinian cause. Iran's religious elite has backed this piety project in multiple ways, but in doing so it has assisted in the creation of a variety of Lebanese Shi'ite nationalisms with competing claims to religious and national authenticity. Shaery-Eisenlohr argues that these ties to Iran have in fact strengthened the position of Lebanese Shi'ites by providing, as is recognized, economic, military, and ideological support for Hizbullah, as well as by compelling Lebanese Shi'ites to foreground the Lebanese components of their identity more forcefully than ever before.

Shaery-Eisenlohr challenges the belief that Shi'ite identity politics only serve to undermine the Lebanese national project. She also makes clear that the expression of Lebanese Shi'ite identity is a nationalist expression and an unintended result of Iranian efforts to influence the politics of Lebanon.

Customer Reviews (1)

Valuable contribution
This is a highly-informative book on the Lebanese Shia, tracing their historical, religious and cultural development and the domestic roles of the key factions, Hizbullah and Amal, their relationship to one another and to Iran. Chapter one is about the formation of the Shia community in the historically Maronite-dominated country. Chapter two is about the various private schools run by the Shia and their impact on Shia public identity. Chapter three addresses the relationship of the factions to the Palestinian cause, contrasting the Amal/Musa Sadr position of support for the Palestinians short of undermining Lebanon with Hizbullah's narrative of "resistance" and subordination of Lebanese interests to Iran's regional agenda. Chapter four deals with Shia factionalism since the foundation of Hizbullah in 1982. Chapter five provides the history and present of Iranian cultural politics in Lebanon.

If this ordering seems a bit confusing, that is because it is. The chapter and subchapter organization of this book is pretty bad, and it detracts from the otherwise excellent content. Chapter two on the different Shia school systems and their role in forming identity makes a lot more sense once you have read the historical background spread through chapters three, four and five. That chapter, along with more recent socio-cultural discussions related to Hizbullah and Iran, should have come well after the history was discussed. Amal's history is also spread all throughout. It would have made more sense to start with a broad historical narrative and then had chapters dealing with social, educational and modern political issues.

Of great cultural value is the author's relation of personal experiences in speaking with Lebanese from the various camps. There is insight you just can't get from written sources, you have to be there.

I do have a slightly different point of view on the Iran-Hizbullah relationship. The author rejects the depiction of Hizbullah as a mere stooge or puppet, and notes correctly that it must maintain a degree of Lebanese authenticity to remain credible, and so concludes that Hizbullah is more like a partner to Iran, albeit a junior one. She gives two examples of Hizbullah's alleged independence (pp. 194-196), both of which I think are pretty trivial. I would say instead that Hizbullah is an organic extension of Iran, or more specifically, of the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad-IRGC camp within the regime. The author correctly, I think, argues that Hizbullah's closeness to the regime leadership enables it to explain what actions would undermine them beforehand so as to have input into decision-making before a decision is announced. But Hizbullah was founded by Iran, is funded by Iran, follows Khamenei's fatwas without hesitation, and is basically an extension of it. I was struck reading Hizbullah forums after the June 12 election and seeing how perfectly matched Hizbullah members' opinions are to the Ahmadinejad camp. Hizbullah often talks of the "Islamic Republic" - instead of Iran or the Islamic Republic of Iraq - as a kind of disembodied entity, separate from Iran as a country with a people. It is the regime with which they identity.

I'm not persuaded by the author's brief discursion on Iraqi politics near the end, in part because there are some minor factual errors (Muqtada Sadr's marja Kathim Haeri does believe in wilayat al-faqih, see his "Foundations of Islamic Government" p. 137, [...]; and the English name of al-majlis al-ala al-iraqi al-islami is Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, or ISCI, not Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, or SIIC). In fact I think her discussion of ISCI's relationship to Iran weakens her point on Hizbullah. ISCI has deviated from a strict Khomeinist line much more than Hizbullah - they formally switched their allegiance to Sistani in 2007, and have worked closely with the United States. Yet it remains clear that they are an Iranian surrogate. Not only does their vast financial advantage over other Shia political parties clearly come from Iran, but the recent ascension of Ammar Hakim to leadership makes this clear. There is no way that an independent political party would have promoted this guy to leadership.

But this is all sideshow. If you are interested in the Lebanese Shia or have a strong interest in Lebanon or regional Shia politics, the book is worth the minor drawbacks.
... Read more

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From 1975 to 1990, Lebanon endured one of the most protracted and bloody civil wars of the twentieth century. Sune Haugbolle's timely and often poignant book chronicles the battle over ideas that emerged from the wreckage of that war. While the Lebanese state encouraged forgetfulness and political parties created sectarian interpretations of the war through cults of dead leaders, intellectuals and activists - inspired by the example of truth and reconciliation movements in different parts of the world - advanced the idea that confronting and remembering the war was necessary for political and cultural renewal. Through an analysis of different cultural productions - media, art, literature, film, posters, and architecture - the author shows how the recollection and reconstruction of political and sectarian violence that took place during the war have helped in Lebanon's healing process. He also shows how a willingness to confront the past influenced the popular uprising in Lebanon after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. ... Read more

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NOT SINCE THOMAS FRIEDMAN’SFROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM IN 1989 HAS A JOURNALIST OFFERED SUCH A POIGNANT AND PASSIONATE PORTRAIT OF LEBANON—A UNIQUELY PLURALIST ARAB COUNTRY STRUGGLING TO DEFEND ITS VIABILITY IN A TURBULENT AND TREACHEROUS MIDDLE EAST.Michael Young, who was taken to Lebanon at age seven by his Lebanese mother after the death of his American father and who has worked most of his career as a journalist there for American publications, brings to life a country in the crossfire of invasions, war, domestic division, incessant sectarian scheming, and often living in fear of its neighbors. Young knows or has known many of the players, politicians, writers, and religious leaders.A country riven by domestic tensions that have often resulted in assassinations, under the considerable sway of Hezbollah (in alliance with Iran and Syria), frequently set upon by Israel and Syria, nearly destroyed by civil war, Lebanon remains an exception among Arab countries because it is a place where liberal instincts and tolerance struggle to stay alive.An important and enduring symbol, Lebanon was once the outstanding example of an (almost) democratic society in an inhospitable, dangerous region—a laboratory both for modernity and violence, as a Lebanese intellectual who was later assassinated once put it.Young relates the growing tension between a domineering Syria and a Lebanese opposition in which charismatic leader and politician Rafiq al-Hariri was assassinated and the Independence Intifada—the Cedar Revolution—broke out. His searing account of his country’s confrontation with its domestic and regional demons is one of hope found and possibly lost. In this stunning narrative, Young tells us what might have been his country’s history, and what it may yet be. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Can anyone explain Lebanon?
I confess I have not quite finished "The Ghosts of Martyrs Square...." but am fascinated so far.I admit some may find it more about Lebanon than they really want to know, but I lived there, very happily, some years ago and returned for a visit in 2002.I maintain a strong affection for the country and its people, mourn for their suffering.I do feel the author, Michael Young (Lebanese/American and long-time resident and reporter in Beirut), goes a long way in making sense of this small, complicated, and important country.It is probably still Phoenician, pragmatic, and determined to outlast its neighbors.

Excellent take on modern day Lebanon, its limitations and possibilities
I have read Michael Young for years on the Daily Star where he has been an editorial writer.He has the unique perspective on Lebanon of being half American and half Lebanese and for having lived in the country during the Civil War years, the years of occupation and now the post Cedar Revolution period that has continued since March 14, 2005.Most people see Lebanon, if at all, as a blip on a radar screen.
Young knows the history and knows the players and this gives him excellent insight into where the country is going since many of the civil war players are now players in this chapter of the country's life.The sectarianism, which many see as a hinderance to the eventual evolution of Lebanon into modernity, Young sees as a possible path toward that future.
Lebanon is the barometer of the entire region.Change Lebanon and change the region.Both sides know this, Iran and the US.Iran has been in the game much longer than has the US.Young touches on this and on the efforts of the US to catch up and to bring Lebanon more toward its natural Western orientation.For years known as the Western window into the East.Young tells us of a future Lebanon as an Eastern Window into the West.A place where the East ever fearful of the ability of the West to swallow them whole, can experience the West and find ways to accommodate their Eastern Ways to the Western culture. This is Lebanon's mission and Young writes it so well.

Dispassionate and Even-Handed
An objective account and analysis of recent Lebanese history with good working explanations of the policies and tactics of the Syrians, Israelis, Maronites, Iranians, Sunnis, Hezbollah, Americans and French.Wouldhave benefited greatly, however, from some photographs of the principle players.A pretty tragic tale in all, which leads one to forecast a pessimistic future.

Beirut 2005 - 2009: A Chance for Democracy Squandered
"A new power rises across the Mideast, advocates for democracy begin to taste success after years of fruitless effort," according to the Post's lead headline on April 17, 2005. The front page picture showed Lebanese columnist Samir Kassir in front of Beirut's Martyrs' Statue, the site of the Independence Uprising that forced an end to 30 years of Syrian occupation of Lebanon.
Reporting from Beirut, Scott Wilson and Daniel Williams wrote: "Suddenly [the Lebanese] were at the cutting edge of the Arab world's democratic spring."
But the Beirut Spring was short-lived, despite the Syrian withdrawal that April. On June 2, Kassir was assassinated and became the second victim, after former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri whose murder, in February, proved to be the spark that started an uprising.
"The taboos were beginning to fall, but the Syrians and their sympathizers had not called it a day," wrote Michael Young in his book The Ghosts of Martyrs Square, which captures the rise and fall of the democracy frenzy in Lebanon between 2005 and 2009.
Young is the opinion page editor at Beirut's The Daily Star. He was born in the United States to an American father and a Lebanese mother. The father prematurely died when Young was seven, and the mother took the boy back to Lebanon where Michael was raised.
In The Ghosts of Martyrs Square, Young does not follow any particular chronological order, which adds to the book's allure. He opens with a story about his friendship with Kassir, an outspoken pro-democracy intellectual whose face later became the uprising's poster.
Young then sums up his understanding of Lebanon, until recently the only Arab country with an elected parliament and government. Young reasons - and rightly so - that unlike other Arab countries where one group muscled its way to power, Lebanon's diverse population of 18 ethno-religious groups resulted in a zero-sum game.
Lebanon's diversity was its weakness too. Because no group could dominate, the system lingered in paralysis. And while Lebanon's diversity allowed the growth of liberal thought, it also made the country an easy prey for its only neighbor Syria.
"The Syrians played a balancing game. They co-opted the older leaders, promoted new ones entirely dependent on Damascus... and hit out against the incorrigibles," Young argued.
In 2000, Syrian autocrat Hafez Assad died and his son Bashar succeeded him. Unlike his cunning father, who ruled Lebanon through his balancing game, Bashar Assad imposed his will through coercion, which he practiced both directly and through Lebanese army officers loyal to him. It was only a matter of time before the Lebanese establishment, created by the end of the civil war in 1990, revolted in the face of Assad and his Lebanese cronies.
In summer 2004, Assad twisted arms to force the extension of the term of his loyalist Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud, much to the explicit opposition of veteran politician Walid Jumblatt and implicit resistance of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In February 2005, Hariri was murdered.
Young argues that popular frustration resulted in the biggest rally in Lebanon's history. On March 14, 2005, more than one third of Lebanon's four million population took to Martyrs' Square. Lebanon's liberal intellectuals, and later politicians opposed to Syria, helped put a face and give a voice to that movement, which came to be known as March 14.
While the March 14 Movement proved instrumental for winning back Lebanon's independence from the Syrians, it also demonstrated the shortcomings of the Lebanese system unable to build on the 2005 success, as Lebanon remained fractured, thus allowing a Syrian comeback.
"We must cut a deal with Syria, those who went after Hariri won't leave Lebanon so easily," Jumblatt told Young in 2005.
But it would take Jumblatt and March 14 four years before they conceded to the Syrians, and Young skillfully records the events leading to the March 14 demise. These included a 33-day war that Hezbollah started with Israel in July 2006, followed by Hezbollah pulling out of government and instructing its supporters to rally for more than a year in downtown Beirut, shutting down businesses and obstructing government.
In 2007, Lebanon saw more bombs and assassinations, and in May 2008, Hezbollah fighters invaded Beirut and southern Mount Lebanon in a punitive raid that forced March 14 to concede.
Young informatively reports on the UN Security Council formation of a Special Tribunal on Lebanon, designed to bring to justice the perpetrators of the crime of Hariri, Kassir and a dozen other journalists, politicians and security officers.
In 2009, even though March 14 defeated Hezbollah and its allies in parliamentary elections, the group remained powerful enough to bully its opponents and force the formation of a cabinet to its liking. Thus ended the democracy saga in the Middle East.

Great Read
One of the best books I've read in a long time. Finished it in 24 hours. ... Read more

Product Description

This prescient and timely book documents Noam Chomsky's visit to Lebanon, in May 2006, to lecture on U.S. imperialism and the imminent crises facing the Middle East— two months before Israel orchestrated major military campaigns against Lebanon and Palestine.During his visit, he met with political leaders— including those of Hizbullah— toured refugee camps, and inspected a former Israeli prison and torture compound.

Inside Lebanon describes Chomsky's journey and situates it within the tragically altered context of Lebanon and Palestine before and after the war of 2006.Chomsky's essays provide a framework for understanding the role of U.S. politics, power, and policies in these conflicts by examining how the United States wages war and imposes world domination while presenting itself as the righteous protector of democracy.Ironically, U.S. efforts at imperial control generate conflict and crises within the region while undermining democracy.

Inside Lebanon includes essays and photographs by Carol Chomsky, Irene L. Gendizier, Assaf Kfoury, Jennifer Loewenstein, Hanady Salman, Rasha Salti, and Fawwaz Traboulsi and provides an analysis of the social-political conditions of people in Lebanon, Gaza, and refugee camps.It situates Israeli's attacks and the position of Hizbullah and Hamas in this conflict while at the same time providing a record of events during the war, linking the conflicts on the ground to the global order.

Customer Reviews (2)

A sober, serious-minded critiqu
Inside Lebanon: Journey to a Shattered Land with Noam and Carol Chomsky collects the gathered insights of Noam and Carol Chomsky during the course of their visit to Lebanon in May 2006 - only two months before Israel initiated a new military campaign against Lebanon and Palestine. Other experts such as Assaf Kfoury, Irene Gendzier, Hanaday Salman, Rasha Salti, and more also contribute their insights into the troubled region in separate essays. Context from both before and after the 2006 war, as well as background and framework information surround this harsh yet illuminating criticism that denounces cruelties committed by the United States and Israel as thoroughly as it condemns terrorist acts such as the September 11th attacks. "According to Bush, any state that harbors terrorists is a terrorist state and must be treated accordingly. It must be bombed and invaded. It seems to me that Bush is calling for the bombing of the United States. The United States harbors terrorists who are regarded as such by the FBI and the Justice Department. One of the worst is Orlando Bosch, the anti-Castro terrorist accused of about thirty terrorist acts by the FBI, among them the crash of a Cubana Airline plane killing seventy-three people. Bush's father, George Herbert Walker Bush, gave Bosch a presidential pardon. Bosch remained in the United States against the objections of the Justice Department, which regarded him as a national security threat." A sober, serious-minded critique, worthy as the spiritual successor to Thomas Friedman's classic "From Beirut to Jerusalem" (though the political viewpoints of the respective authors are not necessarily congruent). Highly recommended.

A good look inside Lebanon
This is a valuable and timely book, in two parts.The first part contains lectures given in Lebanon by Noam Chomsky in May 2006, and essays and interviews from that time.Contributors include a number of respected academics, journalists and community workers from Lebanon and the United States.The second part consists of essays and other materials discussing Israel's incursion into Lebanon in July and August 2006.In this section, there is are moving excerpts from a diary kept by aprominent Lebanese journalist, and dispatches written at the time by a journalist who reported on the conflict.The Israeli bombings killed tens of thousands of civilians, and provoked a debate within Israel as well as in the international community.I will recommend this book to my students and to colleagues and friends.It not only chronicles important events in Lebanon.Its authors help us see the relationship between the conflict in Lebanon, the war in Iraq and the long-term crisis in the Middle East.
Michael E. Tigar, law professor, lawyer, author ... Read more

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For almost nine decades, since their mass-resettlement to the Levant in the wake of the Genocide and First World War, the Armenian communities of Lebanon and Syria appear to have successfully maintained a distinct identity as an ethno-culturally diverse group, in spite of representing a small non-Arab and Christian minority within a very different, mostly Arab and Muslim environment. The author shows that, while in Lebanon the state has facilitated the development of an extensive and effective system of Armenian ethno-cultural preservation, in Syria the emergence of centralizing, authoritarian regimes in the 1950s and 1960s has severely damaged the autonomy and cultural diversity of the Armenian community. Since 1970, the coming to power of the Asad family has conributed to a partial recovery of Armenian ethno-cultural diversity, as the community seems to have developed some for of tacit arrangement with the regime. In Lebanon, on the other hand, the Armenian community suffered the consequences of the recurrent breakdown of the consociational arrangement that regulates public life. In both cases the survival of Armenian cultural distinctiveness seems to be connected, rather incidentally, with the continuing "search for legitimacy" of the state. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs, published by Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs on November 1, 2009. The length of the article is 14441 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lebanon: background and U.S. relations.(Report)
Author: Casey L. Addis
Publication: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs (Report)
Date: November 1, 2009
Publisher: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs
Page: NA

Article Type: Report

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Chapters: Middle East Airlines, Parliament of Lebanon, Lebanese Government of July 2005, Lebanese Government of November 2009, Lebanese Government of July 2008, List of Speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon, Constitution of Lebanon, Lebanese Passport, General Security Directorate. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 40. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Middle East Airlines - Air Liban (Arabic: ), more commonly known as Middle East Airlines (MEA) (Arabic: ), is the national flag-carrier airline of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut. It operates scheduled international flights to Asia, Europe and Africa with its base at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Middle East Airlines (MEA) is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The airline expressed its interest in becoming a SkyTeam associate member in early 2006 at a press conference in New York. Middle East Airlines was founded on 16 May 1945 by Saeb Salam, with operational and technical support from BOAC. Operations started on 1 January 1946 using three de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapides on flights between Beirut and Nicosia, followed by flights to Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Cyprus. Two Douglas DC-3s were acquired in mid-1946. Pan American World Airways acquired a stake and management contract in September 1949. Pan Am was replaced when BOAC acquired 49% of MEA's shares in 1955. A Vickers Viscount was introduced in October 1955 while an Avro York cargo aircraft was leased in June 1957. On 15 December 1960 the first of four de Havilland Comet 4Cs arrived. After the association with BOAC ended on 16 August 1961, MEA was merged with Air Liban on 7 June 1963, which gave Air France a 30% holding, since relinquished. The full title was then Middle East Airlines - A...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=892238 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from APS Diplomat Recorder, published by Pam Stein/Input Solutions on March 5, 2005. The length of the article is 507 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: LEBANON - Feb 28 - Pro-Syrian Government Quits.
Publication: APS Diplomat Recorder (Newsletter)
Date: March 5, 2005
Publisher: Pam Stein/Input Solutions
Volume: 61Issue: 9

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Lebanese Governmental Organizations, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction. Excerpt:The Ministry of National Defense (Arabic: Wizarat al Difaa' al Watani) is Lebanon's service section for the Lebanese Armed Forces which directs the entire Army. The Ministry is located in Yarzeh, Baabda, Mount Lebanon. The building which is considered the biggest Ministry building in Lebanon was designed by the French architect André Wogenscky in 1968. ... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=20194413 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Defense Transportation Journal, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2007. The length of the article is 489 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Indonesian, US militaries join forces to deploy cargo to Lebanon.(GOVERNMENT NEWS*)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Defense Transportation Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 63Issue: 1Page: 29(1)

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This digital document is an article from New Internationalist, published by New Internationalist Magazine on April 1, 2005. The length of the article is 762 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Motherland: a rude shock awaits Reem Haddad in a government office.(Letter from Lebanon)
Author: Reem Haddad
Publication: New Internationalist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2005
Publisher: New Internationalist Magazine
Issue: 377Page: 3(1)

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