The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985 (Cornell Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Itamar Rabinovich (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr; Rev Sub edition (September 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801493137
• ISBN-13: 978-0801493133
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > History > Middle East > Lebanon

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is excellent work, January 12, 2005

By 

Hussain Abdul-Hussain (Washington,DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985 (Cornell Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Itamar Rabinovich's The War for Lebanon is by far one of the most authoritative works on the Lebanese civil war. It is a quick survey that gives background information about most of the players, whether international, regional or domestic.

The account is concise, however, and sacrifices some details for the sake of brevity and coherence. Rabinovich's style is rich and attractive. For readers familiar with the Middle East, the book would serve as a fresh reminder and wouldn't take more than a couple of evening to finish.

Another drawback is that the book covers the period 1975-1984 without covering the rest of the civil war that ended on 1990. Perhaps an updated version with the war's conclusion and perhaps some analysis of the aftermath of the war are currently needed.

If you are looking for the history of the Lebanese civil war, this book is the one you are looking for. If you want some more history of the war, get Kamal Salibi's A House of Many Mansions as a supplement. Between the two books, you would have a complete and comprehensive idea of the Lebanese modern politics and its history.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis, but unfortunately incomplete., May 2, 2011

By 

Antonis (Cyprus) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985 (Cornell Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Lebanon has been a land of conflict and tragedy since its creation in the middle of the 20th century. Perhaps the greatest tragic event that Lebanon has experienced in modern times is the bloody civil war between 1975-1990, that left thousands dead, Lebanon's economy in ruins and resulted in excessive migration of the Lebanese population to neighbouring countries.

The conflict during that period is of considerable political complexity, with the various religious groups of Lebanon, the various political parties, the PLO, Syria, Israel, the United States and the Soviet Union, affecting the crisis of the Lebanese state and its development. What Rabinovich has accomplished in this book, is a clear analysis of the political situation of Lebanon during the years 1970-1985, and the international diplomatic efforts that were made to resolve the crisis. Rabinovich's work stands out as a careful and reliable analysis on the events that shaped the history of Lebanon and the broader geographical area during that period, and the significance that each political actor played in the events that preceded and followed the second Lebanese civil war.

Reliable works on Lebanese history are still rare, as historical research on Lebanon seems to still be limited, or not widely published in English, with most books on Lebanon being written by journalists rather than historians or political analysts. Itamar Rabinovich however stands out as a distinguished professor in political science, and his experienced knowledge of the history and political situation in the Middle East is obvious to anyone who has read his work. Another benefit of this book is the objectivity that it holds throughout the narrative. Rabinovich only seeks to explain, not to judge or criticize, which allows the reader to draw his/her own conclusions and keeps the narrative clean from unneeded bias.

The negative side is that the book does not cover the whole period of the conflict, since the Lebanese crisis ended in 1990, and not in 1985, making the book an incomplete account. We can only hope that Professor Rabinovich will one day return and complete this work with the light of the new evidence and sources that are emerging.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An overview of the Lebanon Civil War., January 17, 2008

By 

Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985 (Cornell Paperbacks) (Paperback)

A nice work and very relevant about the Civil War in Lebanon. This showed the various fighting between Shiite, Sunni, Druze, and Christian factions. This war destroyed one of the few functioning democracies in the Middle East and brought in the armies of Syria, Israel, and the PLO. Lebanon has never been the same. Theocracy is rearing its ugly head through the Shiite, and the Christians have been marginalized resulting in mass emigration. The Palestinians continue to play a role in Lebanon's future, and Syria is still assasinating national politicians. The Middle East wars basically destroyed the demographics of the population resulting in the outside influences of her regional neighbors. It was interesting to hear Asad in the appendix justify his interference in Lebanon's internal affairs by saying they are a member Arab state, but it was strictly forbidden for the U.S. or other western countries to intervene.

This is a nice authoritative read about the causes of Lebanon's Civil War. It shows how each group overplayed their hand, and caused the death of thousands.