Lebanon: A House Divided

This is a compellingly readable book about an immensely complex subject. As history, it provides a vivid picture of the almost countless competing political and social interests that have brought about the "death" of Lebanon. Existing until 1975 as a kind of mirage on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean, Lebanon fell into a years-long civil war played out most dramatically in the international media as heavily armed militia blew apart the city of Beirut and then, later, as one westerner after another was taken hostage by clandestine insurgent groups. Mackey's argument is that Lebanon has never existed in any real way as a nation, its affairs managed by various Christian and Muslim mafia-like families, a precarious arrangement that functioned in the absence of an actual government and for good or ill falling within the spheres of influence of other countries. The resulting social inequities permitted great wealth to exist side-by-side with conditions of abject poverty, and all may have continued indefinitely except for the mass displacement of Palestinian refugees by a militant Israel after 1948 and the rise of militant Shiism that came with the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. When scattered skirmishes among armed groups exploded into full-scale civil war, the author argues, there was nothing to stop the collapse of all order. Intervention by Israel and Syria, the UN and the US merely confounded the tangled objectives of the combatants, while escalating their brutality and further polarizing those caught without mercy in the crossfire. Reading this book is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Calamity follows upon calamity with the inevitability of Greek tragedy. While it ends in 1988, when it was first published, the author's account of the rise of Islamist-inspired Hizbollah points directly to events that fill the news 20 years later. This is an excellent primer for readers who want to understand the continual bloodshed in this tiny country - once called the Switzerland of the Middle East. Mackey writes fluidly and coherently, enlivening her historian's distance with a journalist's on-the-ground observations of key moments, public figures, and the miseries and sufferings of unnamed noncombatants. There are extensive notes, a lengthy bibliography, and a helpful index.

Because Lebanon-Death of a Nation and Lebanon-House divided are the same books. The reader is deceived into thinking that House divided is a continuation of Death of a Nation. Unfortunately, after purchasing both books (because of different titles), we found out that they are exactly identical. The claim of "with new introduction" is nothing but a measly page and a half write-up that adds no value to the overall read, but certainly puts more money in Sandra's pocket. Getting over this disappointment, Sandra's book about the war in Lebanon during the 1975-1989 period is a great read. Without judgment or prejudice, she sheds lights on the politics of the "Zuama" their alliances and re-alliances during that period of Lebanon and how all Lebanese have suffered because of them. It will be interesting to see if she will write a true-continuation about the period 1989--2003 and the similarities of those situations with the past.

This was a great book. I was looking for a relatively short read that would bring me up to speed on Lebanon and all the factions fighting within the country. The author did a wonderful job of showing the interelationship of all the parties and how things started. I would strongly recommend it.

A masterpiece that descruibes the historical context and the motivations of the different groups that participated in the Lebanese civil war. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Lebanon, its 15year civil war, and some of the background behind the conflict in the Middle East.

The author describes the life and culture of lebanese people in a hystorical review. Objective book that explains the political situation in depth.