"Beware of Small States" by David Hirst

"Beware of Small States" by author David Hirst is an intense narrative of the challenges facing Lebanon and its history of conflict. Hirst puts Lebanon in the bigger context of the Arab-Israeli war and details Israel's fixation of Lebanon, a country it has fought to dominate many times.

Banned in six Arab countries, and kidnapped twice during Lebanon's civil wars, Hirst is also a former Middle East correspondent for the prestigious Guardian Newspaper.

A lengthy book and easy to read, Hirst offers a detailed understanding of Lebanon and explores the rise of Hizbollah and the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip. If you can understand Lebanon's history and challenges, you can understand the larger regional conflicts in the Middle East, Hirst argues. He does a good job of bringing history together and exploring its impact on today.

The Middle East has been overwritten but Hirst's book helps bring understanding to a complex region.

Beware of Small States: Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East
By David Hirst
Nation Books, April 1, 2010
www.NationBooks.org
428 Pages

Ordinary Lives by Rania Matar

Lebanese Photographer Rania Matar takes us through the tragedy of the Palestinians in Lebanon and the tragedy of Lebanon itself in a array of brilliant black and white photographs. The gallery of images are offered with only a very brief explanation of context, very general context devoid of the political narratives that so often cloud conflict and tragedy. The reader is left to appreciate the message of the images themselves, the faces of the subjects from young to old. With some poetry and writings from Palestinian Lisa Suhair Majaj, the book features, at the end, a moving and compelling essay by Pulitzer Prize winning Lebanese American journalist Anthony Shadid.

In an interesting format, at the end of the collection, Matar offers details and thumbnails of the photographs at the end of the book allowing you to appreciate the images and later learn about those that might strike you with impression.

It's a beautiful presentation of tragedy and hope.

For more information, visit www.QuantuckLanePress.com
Distributed by W.W. Norton & Company
$39.95

The Arabs: A History by Middle East scholar Eugene Rogan

So much has been written about the history of the Arab World, most driven by interpretations of emotion,  suffering and partisanship. Many of the books have been narratives reflecting the author's bias or political preferences, making them either easy to read satisfying your needs or difficult to read challenging your beliefs. Eugene Rogan, the director of The Middle east Centre at St. Anthony's College in Oxford, however, provides a clinically accurate and compelling "history" that gives the Arab World in a timely examination and explanation.

The introduction details why knowledge of the history of the Arabs is so important and it is followed by chapters that take you through the major developments and the evolution of today's Arab. How did they get to where they are at? And, are they being marginlized and erased by the growing Islamic revolution which is burying the richness and uniqueness of the secular Arab culture in a cult of religious bastardization? These are only some questions that one might answer in understanding the history of The Arabs in Rogan's book.

We all know the historical chronology, but Rogan takes us through a more interesting read through Ottoman rule, the Muhammad Ali empire, reformation, colonization in African, World War I, the disastrous rule of Britain in the Middle East, France in Lebanon, the disaster in Palestine, the rise of Arab nationalism, and the decline of Arab nationalism, the age of oil and the age of Islam, with a look at the consequences of the aftermath of the Cold War.

The other problem I have with past narratives of Arab history has been the writing. It's so hard to read some of the past historical collections. They are painful to the reader and intended for the scholar. Rogan's book mixes his firsthand experience living in the Middle East, his love for the Arab people and a writing style that encourages the non-scholar to appreciate and enjoy the rich cultural and political history of the Arabs. What the Arab World needs is less interference from the professors and scholars and more understanding among the public at large. The public needs this book more than the dusty shelves of some Middle East studies department or the classroom of affected PhD wannabes.

It's the ease by which one can read this thick scholarly work that makes it so valuable. Knowledge is worthless if it can't be expressed and passed along to the less knowledgeable. Rogan has taken the complexities of the Middle East and the role of its evolution under The Arabs and made it something everyday readers will enjoy. More importantly, they will take something away from this enjoyable reading experience. I've read almost every book on the Middle East and the Arabs over the past 35 years of American Arab activism, but Rogan's "The Arabs" has been the most enjoyable, and that makes it the most educational.

I am not a scholar on the Middle East, just a lifelong student. Reading through Rogan's book has been very informative and enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

More information on "The Arabs":

The Arabs

A History
by Eugene Rogan

Nov 2, 2009
Hardcover
US $35.00
CAN $44.50
ISBN: 9780465071005
ISBN-10: 0465071007
Published by Basic Books

Description

To American observers, the Arab world often seems little more than a distant battleground characterized by religious zealotry and political chaos. Years of tone-deaf US policies have left the region powerless to control its own destiny—playing into a longstanding sense of shame and impotence for a once-mighty people. In this definitive account, preeminent historian Eugene Rogan traces five centuries of Arab history, from the Ottoman conquests through the British and French colonial periods and up to the present age of unipolar American hegemony. The Arab world is now more acutely aware than ever of its own vulnerability, and this sense of subjection carries with it vast geopolitical consequences. Drawing from Arab sources little known to Western readers, Rogan’sThe Arabs will transform our understanding of the past, present, and future of one of the world’s most tumultuous regions.

Eugene Rogan

Eugene Rogan is a faculty fellow and university lecturer in the Modern History of the Middle East at St Antony’s College, Oxford, where he serves as director of the Middle East Centre. His previous book, Frontiers of the State in the Late Ottoman Empire, was judged by the Middle East Studies Association of North America to be the best work on the Middle East in 2000 and awarded the Albert Hourani Prize. He lives in Oxford, England.

End

Classic Lebanese Cuisine by Kamal al-Faqih -- press release

CLASSIC LEBANESE CUISINE

170 Fresh and Healthy Mediterranean Favorites

by Kamal Al-Faqih  

Take the trip of a lifetime, let the flavors of Lebanon be your guide …

The cuisine of Lebanon epitomizes the best of the Mediterranean diet, which is highly regarded for its positive health benefits.  It includes an abundance of vegetables, grains, fresh herbs and spices, poultry, meats, seafood and stews — creating meals that are full of robust and earthy flavors. Chef Kamal Al-Faqih invites readers to join him on a trip to his ancestral homeland and to taste the healthy flavorful foods of Lebanon.

CLASSIC LEBANESE CUISINE (Three Forks, September 2009, $24.95) features a dazzling collection of 170 recipes from appetizers and salads to side dishes, entrees and desserts. Readers will discover new flavors as Chef Kamal introduces these time-honored recipes steeped in the authenticity and ethos of the dishes he grew up with.  Accompanied by easy to follow step-by-step instructions, CLASSIC LEBANESE CUISINE makes Lebanese cooking accessible to everyone who seeks to prepare it for the first time or reproduce their favorite flavors and dishes. Chef Kamal ’s expert narrative and mouthwatering recipes will pave the way for the journey.

Inside, readers will find recipes including:

·    Pomegranate-Beef Crescents (Sambousik bi Lahmi)

·    Smoked Eggplant Dip (Baba Ghannouj)

·    Eggplant Salad (Salata Batanjan)

·    Cod Baked in Citrus Tahini (Tajen)

·    Jute Mallow and Garlic-Cilantro Stew with Lamb (Mloukhiyeh)

·    Lentil Soup with Ruby Swiss Chard and Lemon (Adas bi Hamood)

·    Semolina Pistachio Cookies (Mamoul bi Fistouk)

More than just recipes, the book features striking full-color photographs, and a section describing techniques such as rinsing and storing produce, handling filo dough, the recommended procedure for measuring flour, and more. The “pantry” section describes and defines ingredients, sauces, flavorings, oils, and spices. There is a section of suggested menus, which recommends combinations of recipes that you may want to consider when planning a cocktail party, brunch, afternoon luncheon, or dinner. Readers will also find information on how to prepare for a Lebanese feast before the guests arrive.

CLASSIC LEBANESE CUISINE is linked to Chef Kamal’s website, www.cookingwithkamal.com, where additional cooking techniques and demonstration videos aide readers in the preparation of these delicious dishes.  In addition, his recently-launched e-commerce site, shopkamal.com, provides easy access to specialty ingredients for the pantry.

About the Author

Born in the United States as the son of a diplomat, Chef Kamal Al-Faqih was quickly introduced to Lebanese cuisine at his parent’s home in Washington D.C. where he would assist his mother in the kitchen as they prepared time-honored family recipes. His background and upbringing instilled in him a natural authenticity and palate for Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisine. In 1986, the chef made his debut as the owner and head chef of the first exclusively Mediterranean catering company in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (Med Catering). He has cooked for major American celebrities and foreign dignitaries alike, including Francis Ford Coppola, Angelica Houston, the Jordanian Royal family, and the White House. In addition to his professional catering business, from the early 1990s to the present, Chef Kamal has led a variety of cooking demonstrations across North America. From Georgetown University and the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C. to dozens of private homes on the West Coast, Chef Kamal’s charm and natural skills in the kitchen has introduced hundreds of individuals to heart-healthy Mediterranean foods for both formal entertaining and casual dining.

CLASSIC LEBANESE CUISINE

by Kamal Al-Faqih

Three Forks

September 2009

Hardcover Original/$24.95

ISBN: 978-0762752782

Santa Claus in Baghdad: And other stories about teens in the Arab World

Author Elsa Marston has written a wonderful book about the Middle East, but not another boring political analysis of why the conflict started or who is to blame. Instead, she focuses in on the children of the Middle East under the inspiring title "Santa Claus in Bgahdad: and other stories about Teens in the Arab World."

There are 8 stories in this compelling collection that brings the reader to the harsh realities of a very harsh part of the world. The stories reflect the experiences of Arab and Muslim children from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine and from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, from where the greatest injustices continue till this day. Stories from Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan round out the poignancy of this book with the title coming from one story in Iraq, now under American military occupation and rule.

This book does more than offer compelling stories. It offers real insight into why the conflicts continue, contracts what Americans think they know and how little they really know about the causes of the conflicts from the standpoints of innocense and tragedy an perikous lives of young children clouded only by the desire for peace.

I read it and I couldn't put it down until I was finished. I hope you will read it too.

The book is published by the Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis and can be purchased through many online and retail book stores, and from their web site at www.IUPress.Indiana.edu. Or, call 1-800-842-6796.

Marston is the author of many works of fiction and nonfiction. her books include "Women in the Middle East; Tradition and Change; the Cliffs of Cairo; and Muhammad of Mecca, Prophet of Islam.

This book needs to be in every library.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com