From Publishers Weekly
With impressive no-nonsense clarity Mackey sorts out the tangled history of Lebanon leading up to the start of civil war in 1975 through 1988, breaking down the conflict into understandable categories and layers: Christian against Muslim, Left against Right, Lebanese against Palestinian, Israel against PLO, Syria against Lebanon. Identifying the Maronites, the Druze, the Sunnis and Shiites, the author ( The Saudis ) also defines what they represent. Underlying the progressively fractionalizing effect of the war, as Mackay makes clear, is the "endemic schizophrenia" produced by Lebanon's Western and Arab identities and its emergence as the place where centuries of Arab resentment toward the West has found voice and direction. The author is bluntly critical of the Lebanese for their unwillingness to accept responsibility for the fate of their country, which she calls "a truculent parody of a nation." She stresses that the bloody anarchy in Lebanon is as much a tragedy for the West as for the Lebanese, since the war has all but closed the last Western gateway to the Arab world. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This is an excellent primer on Lebanon and its internal politics for both the general reader and the specialist. In an almost clinical fashion, journalist Mackey strips away the complex nuances of Lebanese politics and looks at each social and ethnic component individually. She covers the historical background and development of Lebanon from antiquity to current day. She analyzes the agony of the contemporary civil war and provides insight into the intertwining of families and power politics. Also discussed is the role of the external regional and world powers, particularly the strong French influence, the American and Israeli interventions, and the Soviet presence. This is an excellent supplement to Michael Hudson's The Precarious Republic (Random, 1968) and Lebanon in Crisis , edited by P. Edward Haley and Lewis W. Snider (Syracuse Univ. Pr., 1979). Well recommended for a wide audience. See also Thomas L. Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem , reviewed on p. 95.- Ed. -- Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba Coll., Salisbury, N.C.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Book News, Inc.
On the tangled history of this nation and the impact of cultural and religious factions on Lebanon's long struggle between Western and Arab identities. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

ANNOTATION

Untangles the complex web of the war in Lebanon which is seen as the culmination of the century-old Lebanese struggle between Western and Arab identies.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

With impressive no-nonsense clarity Mackey sorts out the tangled history of Lebanon leading up to the start of civil war in 1975 through 1988, breaking down the conflict into understandable categories and layers: Christian against Muslim, Left against Right, Lebanese against Palestinian, Israel against PLO, Syria against Lebanon. Identifying the Maronites, the Druze, the Sunnis and Shiites, the author ( The Saudis ) also defines what they represent. Underlying the progressively fractionalizing effect of the war, as Mackay makes clear, is the ``endemic schizophrenia'' produced by Lebanon's Western and Arab identities and its emergence as the place where centuries of Arab resentment toward the West has found voice and direction. The author is bluntly critical of the Lebanese for their unwillingness to accept responsibility for the fate of their country, which she calls ``a truculent parody of a nation.'' She stresses that the bloody anarchy in Lebanon is as much a tragedy for the West as for the Lebanese, since the war has all but closed the last Western gateway to the Arab world. (July)

Library Journal

This is an excellent primer on Lebanon and its internal politics for both the general reader and the specialist. In an almost clinical fashion, journalist Mackey strips away the complex nuances of Lebanese politics and looks at each social and ethnic component individually. She covers the historical background and development of Lebanon from antiquity to current day. She analyzes the agony of the contemporary civil war and provides insight into the intertwining of families and power politics. Also discussed is the role of the external regional and world powers, particularly the strong French influence, the American and Israeli interventions, and the Soviet presence. This is an excellent supplement to Michael Hudson's The Precarious Republic (Random, 1968) and Lebanon in Crisis , edited by P. Edward Haley and Lewis W. Snider (Syracuse Univ. Pr., 1979). Well recommended for a wide audience. See also Thomas L. Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem , reviewed on p. 95.-- Ed. -- Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba Coll., Salisbury, N.C.

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