Customer Reviews

The New Face of Lebanon: History's Revenge (Princeton Series on the Middle East)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once known as the Switzerland of the Middle East, Lebanon in the late 1980s was considered a failed state: strife prevailed among Maronite Christians, Sunnis, Shiites, Druze, and Palestinians. William Harris has described Lebanon's situation within a wider historical context in his books Faces of Lebanon and The Levant, both of which deliver up-to-date analysis and have received international acclaim.

Now, barely into the 21st century, history has taken revenge. The Israelis have withdrawn from the South, and the Syrian troops from all of Lebanon, after the people of Beirut rallied

against the occupations and took back their streets. But bombings and contract killings are still the order of the day, and the future of Lebanon remains uncertain. William Harris, a scholar and journalist who is frequently at the right place at the right time, is eminently qualified to analyze events and make projections about the future. When Lebanese Christian General Aoun made his triumphant return from French exile in 2005, he met with Harris. Their last encounter was in his bunker under bombardment. Under similar circumstances, Harris met with Arafat just before he was forced to leave Lebanon. Harris has also shared drinks with Druze leader Walid Jumblat, advised Israeli minister Yossi Beilin about their push for Lebanese withdrawal, and had several talks with various Ba'thist politicians in Damascus.

Publishers Weekly has praised Harris for "managing to find a harmonious balance between wry asides of taxi drivers and local tales on the one hand and interviews with such luminaries as the former deputy director of Israel military intelligence and the chairman of the Palestine National Council on the other . . .", while Al-Hayat has remarked on the lively debates among Lebanese who read his books.

Married to a Lebanese Shi'ite, William Harris is fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, and Turkish. Currently at the University of Otago, New Zealand, Harris has taught at Haigazian University College in Lebanon, Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Johns Hopkins University, Exeter University, University of New South Wales, and Princeton University.

William Harris's The New Face of Lebanon is a fairly comprehensive history of modern Lebanon (i.e. after 1920). Although he does spend time discussing the history of Lebanon prior to 1920, the main thrust of the book focuses on the period of the French mandate and thereafter. In this aspect, the book is an excellent resource for anyone seeking to understand the modern political situation in Lebanon. The book is long (300+ pages) and covers many areas of Lebanese history, including population demographics, economics, sectarian divisions, as well as geopolitical and geographical alignments. The writing is often very dry - not uncommon in a history text - but the sheer amount of information makes up for this. Especially useful is the new final chapter of the book, which covers Lebanon's history from 1990 to 2005 (to this point, the only book to analyze the assassination of Rafiq Hariri and the subsequent Syrian withdrawl from Lebanon, although The Killing of Mr Lebanon by Blanford will be released soon).

Harris has an excellent grasp on the political intricacies of Lebanon, and there are several asides about his personal experience as a journalist in Lebanon during the war years. Although he is a journalist, this book is not a journalistic account of the war years, it reads much more like an academic history. Also, although he sometimes refers to debates among Lebanese historians over their own history, Harris does not engage these debates frequently (a much better resource for this is Kamal Salibi's A House of Many Mansions). Overall, this is a great book about modern Lebanese history, although be aware of exactly what it is. A more accessible account of the same events is Sandra Mackey's Lebanon, although Harris's book is far greater in both scope and detail, and more suited to someone who already has a working knowledge of modern Middle Eastern and lebanese history.

This book--as does its predecessor, "The Faces of Lebanon"--warrants attention, because it constitutes an honest attempt at interpreting modern Lebanon's history by examining the ideals, events, wounds, compromises, and realities of Lebanese society. If you are looking for the jaded regurgitation of the same old Arab nationalist cant, this is certainly not the book for you; you're better served with the lackluster historiographies and demagoguery of Lebanophobes of Fisk and AbuKhalil's persuasion. If, however, you are interested in the fresh, honest perspective of a sharp interpreter of Lebanese society, this is the real McCoy.

"Packed with solid information about the complex reality of the Levant...in its historical, geographical, and political aspects during 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 Magazine

You read pages of literature on Lebanon in this book and try to find one original thought that Harris might have to offer about the country, but to no avail. Additionally, the cover of the book featuring a picture from the 2005 massive rallies in Beirut that led to the Syrian withdrawal form Lebanon gives the impression that this book was compiled in the aftermath of this event whereas in fact it was not. The book is a reprint of an earlier edition with an updated chapter.

Even though Lebanon's groups and forces have maintained the same presence for the past couple of decades, yet after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the consequent withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after 30 years of occupation have revolutionized our perspective on the Syrian role in Lebanon that had until April 2005 kept low profile by the force of Syrian secret police in Lebanon.

The book also endorses the more traditional view on the issue of Lebanese nationalism which has been a point of contention for the past half century. Harris should have better restricted himself to presenting the points of view of the different groups without offering any further analysis because at time, Harris looks to be unfairly taking sides.

The book's style is dry and does not flow and ideas are not original and merely repeat what has been already printed in earlier books. The work is also voluminous for no obvious reason.