a disappointing hodge podge of essays, some of which stand out as being knowledgeable and related to the theme, others much less so...which raises the question of why they were even part of this "collage"...is it their particular affiliation to any of the two editors? I would still recommend this book for the lack of any other sources at the moment on the important reconstruction of Beirut, yet anyone looking for a truly critical and coherent collection of essays should look elsewhere...

The book is short and easy to read, quite informative considering its length. Be ware, however - this book is biased against Israel and the west in its interpretation of historical events. In order to get a more objective view, I suggest reading other sources as well.

Weinberger offers some useful insights into the causes of Syrian intervention in the Lebanese civil war, but her muddled prose undermines any good points she may have intended to express. Namely, she apparently has yet to discover the active voice.

In order to better understand the "guerre incivile", as put by Lebanese sociologist Ahmad Beydoun, one, in my opinion, has to look both inward and outward. In his book, Mr. Latif Abul-Husn takes on some entrenchend ideas that the Lebanese conflict was caused by foreigners (see Ghassan Tuéni, "Liban: une guerre pour les autres", Paris, J.-C Lattès, 1985). This book is a good reminder of the internal causes of the Lebanese conflict that brought destruction, death and despair on Lebanon and its people. END

A great book except it has the wrong title.if u like to read sci-fi novels about the orient this is defenately ur book, a very fertile imagination from the author. if u want to know something about lebanon, lebanese culture or anything that relates to the country, try somewhere else.