Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War

Fisk, formerly of The Times and now Middle East correspondent for The Independent, writes as combatively as the events he so vividly describes. With a fastidious eye for detail, he rails against day-tripping reporters who betray truth with their clichés and loose language, constantly defending language against false appropriation: "terrorism", for example, wielded by one side to describe acts committed against them, deprives the term of any objective purpose and thus legitimises reprisal. He makes reparation with this unique and passionate analysis, still angry after all these years, which remains the most relentless and convincing account yet of the bloodiest quarter-century in Lebanon's history. --David Vincent

Reader Reviews:

"Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation." (2/2 people found this helpful)

This book provides an exceptional depiction of the tragedies that Lebanon underwent during the last quarter of the 20th century,

The bulk of the book focuses on the events that took place during the civil war between 1975 and 1990, hence, it covered the Syrian intervention in 1976, the Israeli invasions in both 1978 and 1982, and the involvement of the multinational forces (USA, Britain and Italy) in the aftermath of the 1982 invasion, which triggered an escalation in civil war. Although not covered in much details, Robert Fisk provides brief snaps taken from the major events that led the deterioration of the situation in Lebanon, such as the Jewish Holocaust and the ethnics cleansing of Palestine. In addition, there are small sections that covered briefly events related to the Lebanese history during the 1860s (Christians and Druze civil war) and 1950s (USA's first involvement).

Despite some accusations against Mr Fisk of being biased in his reporting, I felt that the author has presented a valuable piece of work that successfully captured the ugliness of the war, and exposed the wrong doings of all involved from Palestinians to Israelis, Muslims and Christians, Syrians and the USA. There is a whole chapter that was dedicated to the role of the media in this conflict and other similar conflicts around the world, as well as the hypocrisy and double standards of reporting that was and continue to brain wash the masses to achieve some cynical goals.

This book is a valuable resource for anyone who has an interest in the Lebanese history or the recent developments in the Middle East. It is a little grim and harsh at times, but so has been the fate of this region of the world for as far as I can remember.

The Horrors of the Nation (2/2 people found this helpful)

Robert Fisk's extensive account of the Lebanese civil war is an amazing mosaic of events and stories that in its entirety paint a pretty good picture of the horrors that took place from 1976 to 1996. Mr Fisk has an almost unparalleled ability to be on the spot as events are either unfolding or have just happened.

Pity the Nation is the story of a journalist working in pretty dire conditions and a first account witness statement to the atrocities of civil war, Israeli invasion, more Israeli invasion and involvement by Syria, France, USA, Italy and many other countries that have somehow seemed to get involved in the destiny of Lebanon.

Fisk, along with Norwegian journalist Karsten Tveit, were the first to enter Sabra and Shatila after the massacre and recounts in graphic detail the sheer horror of the systematic extermination by the Christian Lebanese Forces and under the watchful eye of the occupying Israeli Defence Force. Fisk also found himself passing through Hama in Syria in 1982 when President Assad's forces killed between 10,000 and 25.000 civilians in an attempt to oust Muslim Brotherhood influence on Syrian politics. Lastly, he worked with Terry Andersson who was later to be kidnapped and held hostage for over 5 years. It is these stories, along with many more, that combine to give a full and fairly clear picture of war and politics in the Levant over a 20 year period.

Unfortunately the book does not work as a historical account and there are a number of omissions in the book that would need to be included for it to work. More attention would need to be given to the bombing of the US Embassy (such as motive and speculation / evidence as to who was involved), the kidnappings would need to be elaborated and especially the kidnapping of Terry Waite, which I think is dealt with very superficially. Fisk never pretends that Pity the Nation is a historical description of war in Lebanon.

Fisk is a brave man (you would have to be to have lived in Lebanon through the war) and has made himself controversial by writing the book. There is a multitude of very critical reviews by people who in one way or another find it difficult to deal with the very gory and almost unbelievable facts of the conflict. I, for one, believe Fisk's account to be reasonably truthful and precise, as he does not seem to be pushing any one sided agenda. But judge for yourself and be prepared for some stomach churning stuff . Anyone who went through what he did and was prepared to put it on paper afterwards deserves much more than a 5 Star Rating on Amazon!

Spellbinding! (0/2 people found this helpful)

A remarkable book. An account of one man's experiences rather than a conventional history.

The title uses Khalil Gibran's phrase 'Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion'. This seems so apposite - and could be applied to many countries other than The Lebanon.

I was fortunate enough to visit the country at Christmas 2005 - in a brief period of relative peace before the latest orgy of destruction. What amazes is the repetitive nature of events - does nobody ever learn? The only senior politician who seems to have tried to honestly break the vicious cycle of destruction and hatred (Yitzhak Rabin), was murdered by one of his own countrymen.

It amazes that Robert Fisk can write with such elegance and lucidity about such complex and horrific events. Despite its length, this book is very easy to read and totally gripping. Recommended!

Powerful, essential to understanding modern Lebanon (5/5 people found this helpful)

Probably one of the most powerful books I have ever read, Fisk gets to the heart of Lebanon and all of its diversity.

I found this book intellectually satisfying in that at its conclusion I felt I finally had a grasp of how the country's complex political arrangements actually work. This has really helped to provide some context to the ongoing turmoil in Lebanon and the region. The book also made an impact on an emotional level as I felt a real pang of terror during the recent Hezbollah-Israeli conflict, as if someone I know personally were being violated. A powerful book, indeed.

Fisk writes from and about Lebanon from the point of view of a transplanted native. This is what gives his writing its passion, but also its shall we say "non-mainstream" perspective. One assumes the average reader is intelligent enough to take this into account in developing one's own views on the many conflicts the book describes.

This is one of two books most often recommended as introductions to the study of Lebanon and especially its relationship with Israel, the other being Thomas Friedman's "From Beirut to Jerusalem". Friedman's book is the more readable for a general audience; Fisk's intense work is for those who really want to delve deeply into the subject.

PITY THE NATION (2/7 people found this helpful)

This is a great blow by blow horrific account of the conflict - I was a little disappointed that there was not more on what all the chaos was about. I found 'from Beirut to Jerusalem' better for information on that side.

Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War

Robert Fisk

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