The Levant: A Fractured Mosaic (Princeton Series on the Middle East) [Paperback]

William W. Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2003 | Series: Princeton Series on the Middle East

At the outset of the 21st century, perhaps the most interesting feature of the Levant (in Arabic, Bilad al-Sham), in the midst of an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim Arab world, is the command of the entire coastal zone from Cilicia south to Sinai either by non-Arabs or by Arabs who are not Sunni Muslims. This reality overshadows the Levantine interior. In the central Levant the mountain has come to town with the Alawi political ascendance in Damascus in the south, Israeli military and economic power dominates the Palestinians and Jordanians. The transformation in less than a century is remarkable. The revolutionary alteration in the affairs of the Levant through the 20th century has obviously caused great tension. The character and viability of all of the new states created in Bilad al-Sham since 1920 is in continuous flux; national, ethnic, and sectarian frictions have shaped the contemporary geopolitics of the region. These frictions play themselves out in a setting characterized by limited space, rising population pressure, resource shortages, and international strategic interest. In the north, the Arabs face the Turks, who command the main water source. In the center, Lebanon and Syria have yet to settle their identities and interrelationship in a situation of regime insecurity, sectarian sensitivity, and economic crisis. In the south, the confrontation between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs lurches toward some sort of denouement. A Fractured Mosaic attempts an overall assessment of the contemporary affairs of the Levant, in the context of the history of the region since Roman times. William Harris, University of Otago, New Zealand, is the author of Faces of Lebanon and other books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Markus Wiener Pub (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558762655
• ISBN-13: 978-1558762657
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,284,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fresh Look at a Troubled Spot, August 31, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Levant: A Fractured Mosaic (Princeton Series on the Middle East) (Paperback)

The earliest war that we know of was in the Levant. And it doesn't seem like much has changed since. This area, from Turkey in the north, around the coast of the Med to the Egyption border is home (or a major center) of seemingly every religion in the world. And they all seem to hate each other.

The government of the Lavant has usually been been subject to larger empires from the Egyptians to the Romans to the British. When not subjegated, it has been fractured into a mix of countries as it is today.

Mr. Harris has done a splendid job of writing this history, description, and especially his concluding chapter, 'What's Next in the Lavant.' In this chapter he gives his impressions of the Israeli pullback from the settlements in Gaza, of the presence of the U.S. Military in Iraq, the high growth rate among the Arabs and more.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Levant, January 16, 2005

By 

Markus "Mike" (Princeton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Levant: A Fractured Mosaic (Princeton Series on the Middle East) (Paperback)

"One of the best academic books of the year 2004"--Choice Magazine

"Packed with solid information about the complex reality of the Levant). . . in its historical, geographical, and political aspects druing the past two millennia. . . . The survey is remarkably balanced in its depiction of ideologies and rivalries and is replete with useful maps and bibliography. . . . Highly recommended." -Choice

At the outset of the 21st century, the Levant is dominated by non-Sunnis, including Alawis in Syria and Jews in Palestine. The geopolitics of the region have been shaped by national, ethnic, and sectarian frictions in a setting characterized by limited space, rising population pressure, resource shortages, and international strategic interest. In the north, the Arabs face the Turks; in the center, Lebanon and Syria have yet to settle their differences; in the south, the confrontation between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs lurches toward some sort of denouement. The Levant: A Fractured Mosaic attempts an overall assessment of the contemporary affairs of the Levant, in the context of the history of the region since Roman times.

William Harris, University of Otago, New Zealand, is the author of Faces of Lebanon and other books.

4.0 out of 5 stars Mosaic, August 20, 2011

By 

moderatelymoderate - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Levant: A Fractured Mosaic (Princeton Series on the Middle East) (Paperback)

The Levant consists of the Middle Eastern areas of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Gaza, & the West Bank. It is one of the most important areas in the world per square foot/meter, so it's important to try to achieve a real understanding of it, rather than just adopt slogans & this book will help.

The Levant seems more like a jigsaw puzzle than a mosaic, but with this book [plus consulting Wikipedia etc] we can begin to pick up the pieces & put them together. It begins with the Roman period & continues until the "present". Depending on which edition of the book you have, this could be 2002/3 [before the US invasion of Iraq] or 2005.

A drawback to the book is that there is no overall index, just an index of names. There also are useful lists of political movements, dynasties,, tribes, religious & ethnic groups.

I recommend skipping over chapter 1 at first, reading it later as a summary.