San Antonio College Library

This is an account of the turbulent saga of the only Arab state that has a nominal Christian majority. Packed with rival religious sects, feudal chieftains, war lords, squabbling political leaders, and in-house and foreign militias, Lebanon has suffered not only periods of civil war and internal infighting, but also invasions by Palestinians, Syrians and Israelis. It has survived as a republican entity, although shattered, exhausted and bankrupt....

If there's a gaping hole in your knowledge of the Middle East just north of Israel, Harris's straightforward, thorough guide to Lebanon will more than plug the gap. Harris makes no attempt to hide his affection for the troubled country (his wife is a Shiite Muslim, and his family frequently visits Lebanon). Yet he presents a relatively unbiased overview of Lebanon since 1920, from geography and land squabbles to political leaders and their maneuverings....

Placing the Lebanese conflicts in the broader context of the struggles between Western and Arab identities, the author examines the influence of foreign countries in Lebanon and the rise of fundamentalist Islamic groups.

"As a young Lebanese man lies dying in a makeshift mortuary in Beirut during the last days of the civil war in 1991, thoughts of his past life flood through his mind. In his disordered imagination, he writes to the Japanese novelist Yasunari Kawabata who had killed himself in 1972, and argues with him about dying, free will and the value of memory which is for him 'a support untouched by doubt'." "Reaching back to his childhood in the mountains of...

"Pintak, who spent five years covering the Middle East for CBS News, shows us around "a country I love and hate," conveying the mindless violence of factional confrontation, the complicated problems faced by the U.S. Marine contingent and the plight of American hostages in Beirut. Events covered from 1980 to 1985 include the Israeli invasion, the Sabra/Chatilla refugee camp massacres and the bombing of the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks. Pintak...