viii, 354 pages : 24 cm

If there's a gaping hole in your knowledge of the Middle East just north of Israel, Harris's straightforward, thorough guide to Lebanon will more than plug the gap. Harris makes no attempt to hide his affection for the troubled country (his wife is a Shiite Muslim, and his family frequently visits Lebanon). Yet he presents a relatively unbiased overview of Lebanon since 1920, from geography and land squabbles to political leaders and their maneuverings. Harris manages to find a harmonious balance between the wry asides of taxi drivers and floating local tales on the one hand and interviews with such luminaries as a former deputy director of Israeli military intelligence and the chairman of the Palestine National Council on the other. He is as cognizant of others' works as he is thorough. Especially engrossing are the paragraphs in which Harris inserts himself into the action rather than acting as the responsible journalist and hanging back. It is only in his conclusion that the author really lets loose his anger about the troubles he has studied, observed and painstakingly recorded. - Publishers Weekly, on back cover

Includes bibliographical references (pages 345-350) and index

Introduction: Lebanon and the World -- pt. 1. Elements of Lebanon. Ch. 1. Land and Geopolitics. Ch. 2. Sects and Identities. Ch. 3. Families and Rulers -- pt. 2. Greater Lebanon, 1920-89. Ch. 4. A House on Sand, 1920-67. Ch. 5. Into the Abyss, 1967-86. Ch. 6. Militias and Cantons, 1986-89 -- pt. 3. Lebanon after the Cold War. Ch. 7. The Adventure of Michel Aoun. Ch. 8. Ta'if Lebanon, 1990-96