Beware of Small States - Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East

''Beware of Small States'' wrote Mikhail Bukanin in 1870. He could have meant Lebanon: a sectarian state no bigger than Wales that has become battleground for one of the defining conflicts of twentieth-century history. Throughout its short existence, it has been attacked, invaded, occupied or interfered with to serve the political interests of foreign powers, resulting a series of devastating wars and crises. To understand Lebanon''s history is to understand the history of the entire region - and, with the rise of Hizbullah, it has come to assume a disproportionate, dangerous power of its own. Iran and Israel now face each other in the hills of south Lebanon. David Hirst, author of The Gun and the Olive Branch , is a hugely respected commentator on the Arab-Israeli crisis. In a masterly narrative, he gives a much-needed, comprehensive history of the country and its conflicts, culminating with the recent war in Gaza and its fallout in Lebanon. Powerful and often moving, Beware of Small States is a magisterial book, essential reading for understanding Lebanon or the current political climate of the Middle East.

About the author

Fifty-year resident of Beirut and long-time former Middle East correspondent of the Guardian, David Hirst has lived through or reported on most of the events he describes in Beware of Small States. The Gun and the Olive Branch, his seminal history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, was first published in 1977 and updated in new editions in 1984 and 2003.

Product details

• Authors: David Hirst
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 02.06.2011
• EAN: 9780571237425
• ISBN: 978-0-571-23742-5
• No. of pages: 496
• Dimensions: 128 mm x 198 mm x 33 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Contemporary history (1945 to 1989); Non-fiction book; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Freedom, History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Human Rights, HISTORY / Middle East / General, Lebanon, military history, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Middle Eastern, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, c 2000 to c 2009, Political oppression & persecution, Political oppression and persecution