Tragedy in South Lebanon: The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006

In July of 2006, Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, sparking a war between the Israel and Lebanon that victimized civilians on both sides of the border. In Tragedy in South Lebanon, Cathy Sultan, an American married to a Lebanese man and who once had lived in Lebanon, attempts to tell another side of the story, one neglected by the Western media. The book recounts the history of the complex relationships between the United States, Israel, and Middle Eastern peoples such as the South Lebanese and the Palestinians. From that complex history, the book examines the events that led to the July 2006 war, the direct and indirect impact of the violence upon civilians on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border, and the longer term concerns of government viability in Lebanon. The book is filled with first-person accounts of Lebanese and Israeli citizens directly impacted by the violence of the missile attacks. These help to transform war from an abstract concept into a series of real impacts, especially for those who have never experienced this kind of violence firsthand. The book also offers a perspective on the events that were completely missing from the mainstream media coverage of the events. Sultan dissects and explains who Hezbollah is and what they mean to the people of South Lebanon, softening the edges of a group viewed solely as a terrorist organization in the West to a much more complex, multi-faceted political and social service entity helping to meet the basic needs of average people in South Lebanon. Despite all the book's good points, it does seems Sultan cannot quite help but fall victim to the very thing she criticizes in the mainstream media: a biased telling. Perhaps, since each of us comes to every situation loaded with our own histories, no human being can avoid such bias in storytelling, and the impetus falls on the reader to explore as many sources as possible to create as unbiased a picture as possible. In that case, Tragedy in South Lebanon commends itself by offering up a side of the story heretofore untold to Western readers. Armchair Interviews agrees.

Lebanon has not been the most peaceful place in recent decades. "Tragedy in South Lebanon: The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006" is the story of the citizens of Lebanon, residents of a region in constant turmoil, with a focus on the conflicts in 2006. Pointing fingers at the policies of the Lebanese government, Israel, and the United States, "Tragedy in South Lebanon" touches on the political aspect but remains focused on the personal stories of the soldiers, mothers, and other common people who were affected most by all the conflict. "Tragedy in South Lebanon: The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006" is highly recommended for community library International Studies collections.

From far away, people in the United States get their information on the ongoing wars of the Middle East from news sources. These invariably emphasize what has changed and what is new about the situation. But what hasn't changed is the suffering of the people who are caught in it and their determination to live their lives while audaciously working for peace. They are the voices of Cathy Sultan's new book, "Tragedy in South Lebanon: The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006". The geo-political forces that rain down on them examined not as if the region was some kind of chessboard, but as a power struggle involving real people - including the United States. Cathy doesn't let anyone off the hook as the misery, death, cultural genocide and determined hope of the people are all placed into a context that anyone with a heart and a brain can understand. Cathy Sultan raised her family in Beruit and has been actively pursuing peace as an Executive Board Member of the National Peace Foundation. This personal connection with the situation shows in "Tragedy in South Lebanon" through her delicate yet direct touch with her sources and interviewees. She isn't a journalist, she is someone who cares deeply about Lebanon and the desperate need for peace. With its myriad political, cultural, and economic force, the Middle East can be difficult for outsiders to understand. "Tragedy in South Lebanon" not only explains this situation clearly and concisely, it's also an excellent read. Most importantly, you'll never read a dry, analytical news article about the region again without remembering that these are real people struggling with the situation. That's the transformative power of "Tragedy in South Lebanon", and why it's a must read as the United States finds itself deeper and deeper into a region so few of us can relate to.