Notes From The Minefield: United States Intervention In Lebanon And The Middle East, 1945-1958 (Interventions) [Paperback]

Irene L Gendzier (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813366895 | ISBN-13: 978-0813366890 | Publication Date: January 7, 1999

Notes from the Minefield is a groundbreaking work in the analysis of postwar U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Challenging conventional views of the Cold War in the region, it offers a sophisticated interpretation of the ascendancy of U.S. interests, their economic and political connections, and their implications for U.S. politics in the Middle East. While the scope of the book is regional and international, its focus is decidedly local. Notes from the Minefield sheds new light on the extensive interests of the U.S. in Lebanon, and on its role in maintaining a conservative, confessional regime in Beirut. Gendzier brings a wealth of hitherto unexamined evidence to bear on the significance of he 1958 civil war and the objectives of U.S. military intervention in Beirut, an event that has long been the subject of trivial and diversionary explanations. For those interested in recent Middle East politics, the continuing Israeli-Palestinian struggle, the succession of civil wars in Lebanon, and the persistence of authoritarian regimes in the area, Gendzier’s book provides a searing expose.Gendzier draws upon a sweeping array of declassified sources of U.S. policy, including Defense and State Department documents, embassy communiqués, CIA records, and private interviews and correspondence. British records and an exhaustive compendium of secondary sources provide depth and alternative viewpoints. Notes from the Minefield is a compelling work for those interested in U.S. foreign policy, international relations, and the fate of democracy and secularism in Lebanon and the contemporary Middle East.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Irene Gendzier's argument is tightly presented and coherent, and the overall story of the antecedent to the 1958 U.S. intervention in Lebanon is told with insight, clarity, and on the basis of an excellent use of primary research materials. This book will be looked upon as a model for the presentation of a well-evidenced argument on the nature of U.S. foreign relations with Lebanon, and more generally, with the Middle East. -- Richard Falk Princeton University --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Notes from the Minefield is an impressive work of scholarship, containing a great deal of fascinating information. No one will be able to write on U.S. policy toward Lebanon in the 1950s without reference to it.

(William B. Quandt, University of Virginia ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (January 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813366895
• ISBN-13: 978-0813366890
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,250,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hidden Histories, December 15, 2006

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Cathy "of the band, Cathy and the Wuthering H... (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Notes From The Minefield: United States Intervention In Lebanon And The Middle East, 1945-1958 (Interventions) (Paperback)

Irene Gendzier's work on U.S. intervention in Lebanon is a detailed historical analysis of an often neglected problem. Gendzier focuses on the motivations of the all the major players, and brings out the economic dimensions of U.S. policy in an era in which security was often viewed as the only or overriding concern. Her examination of U.S. oil policy in this period foreshadows her later work on the 2003 Iraq War. Though this book can be dry at times, I recommend it for anyone interested in the politics of oil and U.S.-Middle East relations. Not many other works on the Middle East give the Lebanon intervention the spotlight it deserves.