Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon (Nation Books)

This is the book that I've meant to read for years, but have only just got round to. Now I wish I hadn't waited so long. According to Amazon, 5 stars means you "Loved It". Well, "loved it" is not a phrase you can apply to a book like this. It is a horrific tale. But once you're through with it, you find that you've gained the beginnings of a solid "understanding" as to why the Lebanese tragedy unfolded the way it did. I will admit, for someone like myself who doesn't possess a very large knowledge base on the subject of Lebanon, Fisk's work was hard to get into. For openers, he doesn't cover his subject chronologically. In fact, he skips around in history quite a bit (for a reason, as he explains in his prologue). And the maps he provides are rudimentary at best. In fact, I eventually purchased a travel map of Lebanon so that I could better follow his reporting. It was pretty confusing at first, sorting through all the actors and the various factions that influenced the country in the 1900's. But suddenly, after about 4 or 5 chapters, I reached a point where I could not put the book down. I found myself pulled completely into Fisk's world. It is a hair-raising world, indeed. Interviews with Arafat. Interviews with the Gemayals. Interviews with Israeli soldiers. Interviews with Christian and Muslim inhabitants from all walks of life on both sides of the green line in Beirut. But the most striking passages are his on-the-scene accounts of atrocities large and small ... the horrific events that we don't want to know about but that we MUST know about if we are to have any hope at all of not repeating history in future. Afterwards, wanting more historical background, I found Kamal Salibi's work, "A House of Many Mansions", to be tremendously helpful in sorting out the various factions that influenced the region in the time period Fisk covers.

As Fisk tells us this book is not an academic history of the wars in Lebanon but rather a personal narrative of a news reporter based on his mountain of notes, a profession in which he is just the best. This leads to some confusion for a reader who has to stay with him as he jumps from place to place, army to army, party to party, and even time to time. It also takes a strong stomach as he forces us to read about the reality of modern "war", the ugly brutality of what modern weapons can do in dismembering pitiful, innocent human beings. Over and over. As he says, "So far as armies and militias go, there are no good guys in Lebanon." While none of them including the PLO come out as heroes the Israelis certainly do not look good, not just in the brutality inflicted on the Lebanese but in their racist arrogance and lies they often told to cover up their actions. For exposing these Fisk was, as usual, subject to attack by the ubiquitous Israeli lobby in the US including the dreary and false charges of "anti-Semitsm". He is one of the few foreign reporters who has called attention to the Israeli practice of falling back on "the Holocaust" or accusations of anti-Semitism when caught out in one of their military outrages. This book although a difficult read is particularly educational for Americans who may have opinions about Lebanon formed by the usually inadequate US media. Fisk is British but lives in Lebanon. He was educated in Ireland and has somewhat Irish outlooks which I think give him a certain sympathy for those without power. I note that when on leave he went to the remote west of Ireland rather than the fleshpots of Europe! Lastly, his bravery in reporting literally under fire is unique as far as I know, except for a few of his other companions such as his friend the kidnapped Terry Anderson and a few others from several nations and the brave United Nations soldiers. His final chapter about the Israeli attack on the UN base at Qana with its Fiji soldiers and many civilians is shocking and a fitting finale to the book.

I lived in Damascus in the 70s and frequently visited my aunt and cousins in Eastern Beirut. I saw Beirut before and after the destruction. Although I left to the US in 1980 I kept getting the news from back home. Mr. Fisk has done a fantastic job sifting through what happened. The events, the locations, the actors....etc I tip my hat and bow humbly for a job well done. I could not put the book down. I read many books about Lebanon, but this is the one that broke the camel's back. As for all the "anti-Semitic" broken record cry babies i say "you can't hide the truth for ever" Shame on you as human beings that you witness such a suffering of other human beings and you make excuses justifying them. What does that make you? Not an animal...please do not insult them because they do not perform such heinous acts. As for Israel...well you shall live with that guilt till eternity...and I absolutely have no respect towards that nation. I hope that peace will prevail on earth.

It is difficult to know what to say about this book. I believe it to be a genuine effort to chronicle Lebanon's civil war and Israel's 1982 invasion of the country in as objective a tone as possible. For everything written has a "tone" no matter how objective the author tries to be. I believe the facts speak for themselves. Robert Fisk had first-hand experience of the invasion and subsequent events so this is primary source material and should be read as such. I read the book originally in order to verify certain historical events as they are presented in a novel "The Scar of David". When I found these events to be confirmed by Fisk's narrative, I investigated further by searching the Internet for additional verification and found it. All three sources do not present Israel in a particularly flattering light. Is this the result of bias, of anti-Semitism, or simply evidence that the country has behaved badly on occasions? The massacres at Sabra and Chatilla and the shelling of United Nations headquarters in Lebanon in 1996 are historical fact, as is the Holocaust. To deny that they happened, or to accuse Fisk of anti-Semitism because he focuses on these events, is to approach the evidence with a biased eye in favor of Israel. Is Fisk critical of Israel? Yes, he is. Is the criticism justified? I believe so. The horror of the Holocaust has made something of a sacred cow of Israel and with good reason. Six million dead is a figure that is difficult to ignore. But Lebanese and Palestinians are human beings too, and they have suffered as well. If Fisk had any intention in writing this book other than pure journalistic coverage, I believe it to be to point this out. I have read no other books on the subject other than the aforementioned novel, so I cannot compare Fisk's book to anyone else's coverage of events. Is he thorough? Certainly. Is the reporting comprehensive? Possibly. Is the graphic depiction of the carnage necessary? Probably not. But it is effective. Is the U.S. complicit in its unwavering support for Israel? Almost certainly. Is the Palestinian terrorism justified? Are Israel's responses to it proportionate to the offense? These are difficult questions to answer, and I can only offer something I read recently in another venue; "ideal justice, however yearned for, is beyond direct human experience". We can only pity the innocent, and yes, pity the nation.

Robert Fisk does an amazing job at describing with great details the life of a foreign correspondent in Beirut during the 80s. While early in the book the flurry of details could seem overwhelming, it then appears as essential to try to make a sense of what happened then, and more importantly why. Having witnessed a great deal of horrors Robert Fisk still manages to put things in perspective, including his own understanding of the situation then (such as his not foreseeing the wake of suicide bombings in the early 80s). The book is all the more exceptional that Fisk makes additional efforts to make sure that whatever bias he may have (as all individual are wont to have) is counter-balanced by getting as much sides of the story as possible and avoiding spin. The essence of journalism one would say but all too forgotten today. His sympathies definitely transcend political or national boundaries to go to the people who are suffering. And in trying to understand the motives behind all the atrocities (which all "sides" committed) he epitomizes the search for a clearer, less angry view of a world that's too complex to grasp. Indeed a refreshing departure from the usual 15-second-long, "terrorist-this, terrorist-that" sound-bites.

Important well written book that remains relevant in explaining the situation in West Asia aka the Middle East.

This is a heavy, journalistic read, but I read it right before traveling to Lebanon. It's really a fascinating look at the country and everything that has happened there. A must-read for anyone interested in that part of the world, or anyone who plans to travel there.

I started reading this book because my grandparents are from Lebanon. However, as a read the preface and looked over the time line I realized that the author left out some pretty amazing events - like the invasion of Lebanon from Iran's Hezbollah. That event and the jihad called on Lebanon by Yassar Arafat are important events that has lebanon it the state it is today. I was hoping for an unbiased point pf view of the author, but that is not the case.

The length of the book seems daunting at first, but it becomes a non issue once you get into it. It’s an incredibly engaging and informative piece of work and I’m glad I got it

It is difficult if not impossible to judge the media reports on accuracy, unless one has a reliable source to compare them with. I have compared this eyewitness account with the reports I used to hear in the media in those days, and I have decided that this is much more accurate. Robert Fisk's compelling book gives the reader an incomparable insight into the truth of the good and evil, which has plagued the Middle East causing so much grief to women and children as well as to the fighting men. One may disagree with some of the points made by the author but one can never call him anti-Semitic, as Arabs and Israelis are both Semites; and in this book everyone's failings are listed. I for one can't wait for his next book on this subject.

A great book by Robert Fisk giving an unbiased insight into the Lebanese Civil War. Roberts writing is truly unbiased and tells many of the horrors of the Lebanese Civil War. From the atrocities carried out by Lebanese factions to those carried out under the watchful eye of the Israelis during their '82 invasion of Beirut and the difficult job of UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon. The book journeys from the British Mandate in Palestine to the Syrian Intervention and subsequent occupation that bought about a relative if not unstable ceasefire via the Palestinian refugee camps to those homes now occupied by modern day Israelis.

Fisk knows his politics. You have to admire a journalist who tells it like it is and who does it while dodging bullets and bombs.

excellent review of palestinian history