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Reviving Phoenicia follows the social, intellectual and political development of the Phoenician myth of origin in Lebanon from the middle of the 19th century to the end of the 20th. Asher Kaufman demonstrates the role played by the lay, liberal Syrian-Lebanese who resided in Beirut, Alexandria and America towards the end of the 19th century in the birth and dissemination of this myth. Kaufman investigates the crucial place Phoenicianism occupied in the formation of Greater Lebanon in 1920. He also explores the way the Jesuit Order and the French authorities propagated this myth during the mandate years. The book also analyzes literary writings of different Lebanese who advocated this myth, and of others who opposed it.
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Customer Reviews (6)

fascinating book
I picked up this book and found it a fascinating summary of the history of modern Lebanon. I highly recommend it for those who are interested in the modern Middle East.

Mr Kaufman should eat his words with publication of genetic study
Zalloua et al., Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean, The American Journal of Human Genetics (2008), doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.10.012 suffices to invite Mr. Kaufman to eat his words.

Thank goodness for the science of genetics that silences nay sayers.

Interesting perspective and opinions, but facts are facts
Aiming to write a book that tries to propogate the idea that Lebanon and Lebanese people only have a mythological connection to Phoenicia would be similar to writing a book stating as a "myth" that Jews ever existed in what is today Israel. True that there has been a lot of glorification of the Phoenicians by Lebanese over history, but why not? Would the author deny the Greeks, Indians, or Chinese pride in their ancient history and culture? It is also true that most Lebanese today cannot prove their bloodline links to the ancient Phoenicians but this does not mean that Phoenicia and the Phoenicians have not shaped and do not reflect the many aspects of Lebanon and its people throughout history and until today. If the author ever visited Lebanon (which he cannot due to political reasons) and studied the country, its people, and history from a first-hand perspective and not from a distance, then he would clearly see how Phoenicia and Phoenicians have shaped the country. I believe the author is trying to deny a country its history through such a book and any visitor will easily see Lebanon's Phoenician heritage on the ground in the form of ancient cities and artifacts which litter the country.

Interesting analysis of the mandate period
I am interested in the role of Europe in the Middle East and I found the analysis of France's role in Mandatory Lebanon extremely well documented. The book reads well and is also excellent for using as a reference -- as all of the information contained is cited with great attention to detail.

a must for those interested in Lebanon's multiple identities
A very good book. Strongly recommended. A refreshing look at Lebanon's history before and during the mandate years. ... Read more

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This compilation of genealogies is based on research that included church records, court records, and census records. The following families are traced from early 1700s into mid-1800s: Biehlmajer, Ehrhardt, Friesner, Fuesser, Griffith, Grimm, Horauff/Harr ... Read more

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Leila Fawaz's pioneering study tells the story of the 1860 civil wars that began in Mount Lebanon and spilled over into Damascus. This period witnessed the most severe outbreak of sectarian violence in the history of Ottoman Syria and Lebanon. The author's close analytical narrative of the dramatic events of that year is set against the broader themes of nineteenth-century social, political, and economic change.Fawaz shows how social conflict, including "ethnic" civil wars, cannot be explained without analyzing the regional and international currents that play upon both central state power and local autonomy. She also demonstrates the important role of the communal balance between social and political institutions within regions.Fawaz's new insights into the formation of sectarian identities and conflict will make An Occasion for War essential reading for all students of the modern Middle East. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A moderate account of the conflict
Like much scholarship on the modern middle east this book justifies terror by saying `it was popular action...and due to societal changes' as if just because society changes then people have a right to go on a racist rampage.In many ways the author seems to look at Lebanon as if it was the Post-Civil war south.In 1860 Lebanon was going through a foreign intervention of Europeans whose investments were enriching the Maronites and therefore `upsetting' the delicate ethnic balance between Druze and Maronite.The problem is that this `balance' had been based on Islamic supremacy, and that was the only thing the Druze would allow.Jealousy and a fear that the Druze might actually end up poorer then their Maronite neighbors led the Druze to go on a rampage murdering as many as a hundred thousand Christians, they were only stopped in their attacks by international intervention.In many respects the `popular action' of genocide in Lebanon presaged the Armenian massacres of 1915, the Assyrian massacres of 1920 and the Sikh massacres of 1948, each involved a community committing genocide against an ancient minority community, mostly due to the fact that the world wasn't watching and using societal upheaval and chaos as an excuse.Yet in Lebanon in 1860 the international community did notice and intervened.But in the end all this did was postpone the genocidal conflict until the 1980s when new terrorists would go on new rampages while the world ignored the conflict and the media in fact aided and abbeded the terrorists by calling it a `civil war' when their was nothing civil about it and the war entailed a superior majority rounding up aan unarmed minority and killing them all.This book, like so many of its ilk, is biased and flawed but it is one of the few on the subject.

A biased account but one of the few on the subject
Like much scholarship on the modern middle east this book justifies terror by saying �it was popular action�and due to societal changes� as if just because society changes then people have a right to go on a racist rampage.In many ways the author seems to look at Lebanon as if it was the Post-Civil war south where racist gangs went on rampages.In 1860 Lebanon apparently was going through a similar foreign intervention of carpet baggers in the form of Europeans whose investments were enriching the Maronites and therefore �upsetting� the delicate ethnic balance between Druze and Maronite.The problem is that this �balance� had been based on Islamic supremacy, and that was the only thing the Druze would allow.Jealousy and a fear that Muslims might actually end up poorer then their Christian neighbors led the Druze to go on a rampage murdering as many as a hundred thousand Christians, they were only stopped in their genocide by international intervention.In many respects the �popular action� of genocide in Lebanon presaged the Armenian massacres of 1915, the Assyrian massacres of 1920 and the Sikh massacres of 1948, each involved a muslim community committing genocide against an ancient minority community, mostly due to the fact that the world wasn�t watching and using societal upheaval and chaos as an excuse.Yet in Lebanon in 1860 the international community did notice and intervened.But in the end all this did was postpone the genocidal conflict until the 1980s when new terrorists would go on new rampages and kill another 100,000 Christians while the world ignored the conflict and the media in fact aided and abbeded the terrorists by calling it a �civil war� when their was nothing civil about it and the war entailed a superior majority rounding up aan unarmed minority and killing them all.This book, like so many of its ilk, is biased and flawed but it is one of the few on the subject.

I must agree with the other reviews
The author is clearly biased, she has tailored her research and the subsequent conclusions to idealize one side of the conflict while demonizing the other. On some occasions she dives into treacherous scholastic investigation, revealing the number of cows, pigs, and sheep slaughtered during a marauding but then makes blatant generalizations and oversimplifications on issues that matter greatly, most notably the issue of identities, narratives and historical oppression in the Mountain. On one occasion she writes something like: The Maronites are most likely (it could have been "probably") Arabs." Where did the analytical analyses go? It seems to me that such a fact is significantly relevant and might have warranted a bit more research which would have eliminated the uncertainty in her statement. She also gives way too much credit to the economical disparities in the Mountain which is indicative of her school of thought but fails to capture the spirit of the conflict. This is quite simply a bad book, aside from the biography it is worthless.

Important in understanding the recent Middle East
This book may be accused of being biased but it's well worth reading nontheless as it provides an account that is invaluable in explaning the more recent civil war in Lebanon and in fact the roots of many Middle East problems as the Ottoman empire crumbled and led to increased European intervention. Fawaz is one of the main researchers in 19th century Social and Economic transformation in the Levant and is an excellent complement to fine general accounts by Roger Owen, Charles Issawi and Chevallier. Bias aside. Fawaz discusses the centralizing administrative reforms of the mid-19th century Syria and how these acted in conjunction with a unique combination of internal and external social and economic forces that collided to generate a violent civil war in the Lebanon and Damascus in 1860. The book analyzes the socio-economic conditions and circumstances that contributed to the civil conflict in Syria of 1860. It also considers the changes in the international economy in the mid-19th century and its effect in the context of Beirut and Damascus, European cultural, economic and political influence in the Syrian province and the changes in Christian-Muslim relations in terms of the application of the reforms. Ultimately it shows that while the 1860 Civil War in Syria was confessional in its manifestation, it was largely an expression of grievance against the rapid and widespread social and economic transformation that occurred in the first half of the 19th century.

Disappointing.
Instead of being a fascinating account of a crucial period in the history of the Christians and Druzes in Mount Lebanon andSyria, the book appears to be an obvious attempt at demonizing the victims and justifying the massacres. It is disappointing that so much bias was camouflaged as an objective interpretation of historical events. On several occasions, the book gives the impression that the author's interpretations of events constitute the ultimate truth. At times, this is done without taking into consideration even the interpretations of the people whom the book uses as references. The only beneficial part of the book is the extensive bibliography, otherwise very disappointing. ... Read more

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The present volume covers some 1724 Lebanese place-names in the districts of Mount Lebanon and North Lebanon. The aim has been to: a) establish a database of place-names based on fieldwork; b) present the etymologies of these names based on the latest findings in Semitic lexicography, onomastics and dialectology; and c) plot the results across the Lebanese territory. analysis of the place-names, focusing on language, geography and society, tends to confirm that language and religion shifts in Lebanon were gradual. Nearly 49 are Phoenician. The traditional dividing lines between religious groups are only slightly reflected in place-names. These groups seem to have had a similar sociocultural development. The landscape holds a central position in Lebanese place-names. Water, human occupation, religion and the family also hold a prominent position (Peeters 2002) ... Read more

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The 1950s in Lebanon were marked by bitter infighting, slander, rivalry and rumor. Much was left unsaid, much was misunderstood, much was lied about. Caroline Attié's book seeks to explain the truth behind the intrigues and cloak-and-dagger politics that dominated the country for the decade. Many questions have gone unanswered until now. Attie's book, useful to all students of the modern Middle East, sheds penetrating light into these shadowy regions of Lebanese history.
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Originally published in 1911.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Language Memory and Identity in the Middle East differs from traditional modern Middle East scholarship in that it reevaluates the images and perceptions that specialists-and Middle Easterners themselves-have normalized and intellectualized about the region, often with a patronizing rejection of the legitimacy and authenticity of non-Arab Middle Eastern peoples, and a refusal to attribute the Middle East's pathologies to causes outside the traditional Arab-Israeli and post-colonial paradigms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Educational and inspiring: a must read
The book represents the best study on modern Lebanon and the school of thought of Lebanonism. Dr. Salameh has pulled off a noteworthy feat by producing an accessible yet distictive study of the Middle-East in general and of Lebanon in particular. The book represents a breakthrough touor de force in academic research. It represents the most authoritative and up-to-date analysis of this forgotten and/or neglected group of thinkers.

Dr. Salameh's rich and personal experience adds an enjoyable details to the book. His encounter with Said Akl sheds a direct light on one of the most eloquent and charismatic intellectuals in modern Lebanon.

This book is highly recommended for the policy makers in the West, in particular in the United States, and to academics as well who share the courage of Dr. Salameh to venture into finding real -and fair- solutions to the Middle-East problems (or dilemmas?).

This book presents also a wake-up call to the Lebanese government and the various Lebanese institutions around the world; it provides a framework of necessary and much needed educational material so the Lebanese may learn again the true history of their country and be exposed to some of its greatest thinkers... ... Read more

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Excellent pictures
Everyone should be aware of the atrocities committed by the Israeli army in Lebanon. These atrocities are nothing new, but they reached a whole new level in the war on Lebanon in 2006. The quality of the pictures in this book is amazing, but what is even more important than the quality is the fact that these pictures were taken from the ground in the middle of all the madness. When you look at the pictures you feel as if you are living the moment with the people that are suffering. You feel connected to them somehow. The reason I give this book four stars is that I think it would have been appropriate to include some pictures of tanks, planes or fighters. Maybe Pellegrin's intention was to show what was happening on the ground, and that is fine, but I think that this book would have been perfect if only one photograph of the F-16 was included just to tell us that this is the monster responsible for what we see in all the other pictures. ... Read more

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Once the cosmopolitan centre of the Middle East, Beirut was devastated by the civil war that ran from 1975 to 1991, which dislocated many residents, disrupted normal municipal functions, and destroyed the vibrant downtown district. The aftermath of the war was an unstable situation Sawalha considers 'a post-war state of emergency', even as the state strove to restore normalcy. This ethnography centres on various groups' responses to Beirut's large, privatized urban-renewal project that unfolded during this turbulent moment. At the core of the study is the theme of remembering space. The official process of rebuilding the city as a node in the global economy collided with local day-to-day concerns, and all arguments invariably inspired narratives of what happened before and during the war. Sawalha explains how Beirutis invoked their past experiences of specific sites to vie for the power to shape those sites in the future. Rather than focus on a single site, the ethnography crosses multiple urban sites and social groups, to survey varied groups with interests in particular spaces.The book contextualizes these spatial conflicts within the discourses of the city's historical accounts and the much-debated concept of heritage, voiced in academic writing, politics, and journalism. In the afterword, Sawalha links these conflicts to the social and political crises of early twenty-first-century Beirut. ... Read more

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Lebanese history is often associated with sectarianism and hostility between religious communities, but by examining public memorials and historical accounts Lucia Volk finds evidence for a sustained politics of Muslim and Christian co-existence. Lebanese Muslim and Christian civilians were jointly commemorated as martyrs for the nation after various episodes of violence in Lebanese history. Sites of memory sponsored by Maronite, Sunni, Shiite, and Druze elites have shared the goal of creating cross-community solidarity by honoring the joint sacrifice of civilians of different religious communities. This compelling and lucid study enhances our understanding of culture and politics in the Middle East and the politics of memory in situations of ongoing conflict.

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In April of 1975, Lebanon, the tranquil Middle Eastern country called the Switzerland of the Orient, exploded into a violent conflict that lasted almost two decades. This book explores the convoluted politics and forces within Lebanon and the Near East that made the atmosphere in that tiny republic highly charged, thus inhibiting conflict resolution. This comprehensive study describes the strategies, battles, and conferences that kept Lebanon aflame, despite the best efforts of all concerned parties to terminate the bloodshed. Abraham looks at Lebanon from the inside-out, highlighting the conflicting politics of Lebanese leaders, the failure of the "democratic left" to take over the state, and the underlying problem of the PLO's presence in the country. ... Read more

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Publisher: Buffalo, N.Y. : The Peter Paul Book companyPublication date: 1895Subjects: American poetry -- Shaker authorsNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

An Outstanding Work
Of all the books I've read on Lebanon, not a single volume contains the thoroughness, depth and sensitivity possessed by this outstanding work.Professor Goria's interviews with many of Lebanon's key leaders and with Arab and American diplomats who were directly involved in the crisis gives this work vitality and richness. His careful, objective and accurate analysis of the role played by power politics among Lebanon's principal leaders, together with a sensitive and fascinating treatment of socio-economic precursors to Lebanon's war contribute to making this work in my view the single best book I have read on the subject." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A fair and even handed book
The book had its highs and lows in terms of excitement, however over all it was a very concise, even handed, and fair book. After I had gotten started it was hard to stop reading. I now feel greatly enlightened after having read this book.

A fair and concise book
The book had its highs and lows in terms of excitement, however over all it was a very concise, even handed, and fair book. After I had gotten started it was hard to stop reading. I feel greatly enlightened on the topic, after reading this particular book.

Recommended for any serious readers, and historians.

did it really answer the question which was stated?
well it was a really boring book and i think it should not be appointed to anyone ... Read more