The New Face of Lebanon: History's Revenge [Paperback]

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.

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.

"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