Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon

On October 23, 1983, two men nearly simultaneously detonated car bombs killing 241 American servicemen, of whom 220 were Marines and 58 French servicemen in one of the deadliest days in American combat history since World War 2. I have known of this for a large part of my life, but wanted to get an understanding of the particulars. Why were we there in the first place? Who was responsible for the bombing? If we were part of a multi-national force to protect the Lebanese from the Israelis and Syrians, why were our servicemen targets?

All of this and much more was answered in this epic tome (752 pages). It was not just the size of the book that made this difficult, but Mr. Fisk's writing style has him jumping around quite a bit. In one chapter he is discussing the Chabra and Chatila massacres, in another he is discussing the seige of Beirut. Then he is discussing the kidnapping of journalist Terry Anderson. This can make for a difficult read, especially with all of the unfamiliar towns and names that are included.

It was also difficult because of how the abject slaughter of war is described. Mr. Fisk was on the scene shortly following many of these disasters and his ability to describe eyewitness testimony from those who survived, as well as his own observations surveying the results of the massacres is second-to-none. It was difficult to comprehend how people could actually live through this.

Having said all of that, this was probably one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It has completely changed my understanding of the politics of the region. I will never look at the word “terrorist” in the same light again.

If you have an interest in the region and its politics, I would highly recommend this book.