A History of Modern Lebanon (Paperback)

~ Fawwaz Traboulsi (Author)
Key Phrases: sectarian quotas, silk economy, sectarian representation, Mount Lebanon, Greater Lebanon, Ottoman Empire (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Skillfully weaving together social, political, cultural and economic history, this deeply informed and penetrating study provides a rich understanding of the vibrant, tragic, but ever hopeful Lebanese 'door to East and West', tracing the intricacies of this fascinating society. It closes with the observation that 'a new period in the history of Lebanon had begun' in 1990, a period that has been marked by achievements and horrors, but with the promise for the better future that its people surely deserve." Noam Chomsky"

Product Description

-- A stunning history of Lebanon over five centuries --"Skillfully weaving together social, political, cultural and economic history, this deeply informed and penetrating study provides a rich understanding of the vibrant, tragic, but ever hopeful Leban

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press (January 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745324371
• ISBN-13: 978-0745324371
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,948 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for all audiences, August 24, 2007

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

There is something unique about this book. It does not only narrate Lebanon's historical events, it analyzes them from a socio-economic perspective. Traboulsi is not only a historian. He is a seasoned Lebanese political activist and partisan of the now-disbanded Organization of Communist Activity. Accordingly, a number of accounts in his book come from a person who was well-situated to learn about them firsthand.
Unlike the description of this book, it is not the only work on Lebanese history in the past forty years. However, the book is certainly the best recommended for first-time readers who have no or minimum background information on the subject.
Without going into great detail, the author assembles an enormous amount of information and presents it in this enjoyable read whose language was shaped by a talented Marlin Dick, one of the best Western journalists based in Lebanon.
For those who are familiar with other literature on the subject, this book brings together several themes drawn from Kamal Salibi's A House of Many Mansions, Samir Kassir's A History of Beirut as well as primary sources. Traboulsi deals well with archival material and other primary sources and conducts excellent research.
A History of Modern Lebanon (as opposed to Salibi's A Modern History of Lebanon), fixes the starting date of the state of Lebanon at the sixteenth century unlike other books that go into painstaking detail to narrate the history of this nation since ancient times.
From then on, Traboulsi ascends chronologically and his story reaches the Independence Intifada of 2005. At times, readers might feel that the author delves into irrelevant accounts. But overall, the book is coherent and offers substantiated arguments.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for anyone who wants to know Lebanon's past and future., June 12, 2009

By	Rami H. Rajeh "Meeps" (Beirut, Lebanon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book gives a detailed yet brief overview of Lebanon's history in a flowing and concise form. It sheds light on a Lebanon's various controversial phases in history, yet maintaining its objectivity. I recommend that anyone interested in the landmass called Lebanon to give this book a thorough read.

7 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A book with little academic content, November 23, 2007

By	Samir Kassir "Sam" (United States) - See all my reviews

This book by Fawwwaz Traboulsi, aside from the poor print and paper qaulity, leaves the reader starving for new ideas or inspiring / revealing contents. It is simply a rehash of dozens of volumes that appeared on the subject in recent years which were much more scholarly written and presented a much more balanced presentation. The pretention on the back jacket that this is THE book on a modern history of Lebanon is incorrect; readers can just enter the word Lebanon on the [...] subject line and will have a list of 2,000 books including almost 25 new ones that cover the modern history of Lebanon even if they don't have the word "history" in their title. The book is not even enough on the LEFT (as Mr. Traboulsi is known as being a leading leftist academic) as it attempts to follow the current trend in Lebanon of a revisionist approach to rewriting the story of the civil war to staisfy a lot of groups. As for the events between 1516 and 1920 in Lebanon these can be found in almost every book on Lebanon. Mr. Traboulsi simply picked and chose the details of that period and there was nothing original there either. Don't waste your time or money.