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Title: Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon (Nation Books)
ISBN: 1560254424
Author:
Robert Fisk
Publicate Date: 2002-10-23
Publish: 2002-10-23
List Price: $21.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.79
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $6.10
Amazon Merchant Price: $14.28
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Excellent Journalistic Account of the Civil War and Israeli invasion of Lebanon
Robert Fisk, a journalist who is still living in Beirut, Lebanon gives and excellent journalistic account of the Lebanese Civil war and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. He doesn't pull punches and is quite accurate in his assessment. He is perhaps one of the few journalists who are stuck in the mainstream mode of reporting news in the Middle East. This book is an excellent resource for those who want to learn about this part of Lebanese history from the eyes of an in-the-trench journalist such as Robert Fisk.
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2: Not for the faint of heart
It is difficult to know what to say about this book. I believe it to be a genuine effort to chronicle Lebanon's civil war and Israel's 1982 invasion of the country in as objective a tone as possible. For everything written has a "tone" no matter how objective the author tries to be.
I believe the facts speak for themselves. Robert Fisk had first-hand experience of the invasion and subsequent events so this is primary source material and should be read as such. I read the book originally in order to verify certain historical events as they are presented in a novel "The Scar of David". When I found these events to be confirmed by Fisk's narrative, I investigated further by searching the Internet for additional verification and found it. All three sources do not present Israel in a particularly flattering light. Is this the result of bias, of anti-Semitism, or simply evidence that the country has behaved badly on occasions?
The massacres at Sabra and Chatilla and the shelling of United Nations headquarters in Lebanon in 1996 are historical fact, as is the Holocaust.
To deny that they happened, or to accuse Fisk of anti-Semitism because he focuses on these events, is to approach the evidence with a biased eye in favor of Israel.
Is Fisk critical of Israel? Yes, he is. Is the criticism justified? I believe so. The horror of the Holocaust has made something of a sacred cow of Israel and with good reason. Six million dead is a figure that is difficult to ignore. But Lebanese and Palestinians are human beings too, and they have suffered as well. If Fisk had any intention in writing this book other than pure journalistic coverage, I believe it to be to point this out.
I have read no other books on the subject other than the aforementioned novel, so I cannot compare Fisk's book to anyone else's coverage of events. Is he thorough? Certainly. Is the reporting comprehensive? Possibly. Is the graphic depiction of the carnage necessary? Probably not. But it is effective. Is the U.S. complicit in its unwavering support for Israel? Almost certainly.
Is the Palestinian terrorism justified? Are Israel's responses to it proportionate to the offense? These are difficult questions to answer, and I can only offer something I read recently in another venue; "ideal justice, however yearned for, is beyond direct human experience".
We can only pity the innocent, and yes, pity the nation.
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3: Not an easy read
As Fisk tells us this book is not an academic history of the wars in Lebanon but rather a personal narrative of a news reporter based on his mountain of notes, a profession in which he is just the best. This leads to some confusion for a reader who has to stay with him as he jumps from place to place, army to army, party to party, and even time to time. It also takes a strong stomach as he forces us to read about the reality of modern "war", the ugly brutality of what modern weapons can do in dismembering pitiful, innocent human beings. Over and over. As he says, "So far as armies and militias go, there are no good guys in Lebanon." While none of them including the PLO come out as heroes the Israelis certainly do not look good, not just in the brutality inflicted on the Lebanese but in their racist arrogance and lies they often told to cover up their actions. For exposing these Fisk was, as usual, subject to attack by the ubiquitous Israeli lobby in the US including the dreary and false charges of "anti-Semitsm". He is one of the few foreign reporters who has called attention to the Israeli practice of falling back on "the Holocaust" or accusations of anti-Semitism when caught out in one of their military outrages.
This book although a difficult read is particularly educational for Americans who may have opinions about Lebanon formed by the usually inadequate US media.
Fisk is British but lives in Lebanon. He was educated in Ireland and has somewhat Irish outlooks which I think give him a certain sympathy for those without power. I note that when on leave he went to the remote west of Ireland rather than the fleshpots of Europe!
Lastly, his bravery in reporting literally under fire is unique as far as I know, except for a few of his other companions such as his friend the kidnapped Terry Anderson and a few others from several nations and the brave United Nations soldiers. His final chapter about the Israeli attack on the UN base at Qana with its Fiji soldiers and many civilians is shocking and a fitting finale to the book.
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4: Must-Read
Chock-full of information and rare insights that is rarely seen. I must say he is quite exhaustive in his dealings of each side of the various conflicts he discusses and lays everything out on the table so that you see the best and worst of all worlds. I am ordering his new book as we speak.
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5: Days in life of a journalist in Lebanon
This book an account of the author's experience as a reporter in Lebanon during the Civil War. It is essentially journalism, in the sense that it covers the day to day experience of the author. As the author says in the beginning, it is not a history (even though you can follow historical events pretty closely through Fisk's eyes), it is more an account of the daily life of ordinary citizens. For example, there are no statistics, not much on politics and no economic consideration. I personally suspect that studying the economics could help understand the conflict. The good thing is that Fisk has been to a lot of places. He keeps running around the Muslim parts of Lebanon and speaking with everyone: Israelis, Syrians, Palestinians, Muslims, Christians, Druzes, Americans, French, Italians.... He always seems to be near to where the bombs fall, which makes it possible for the reader to learn about the many different ways of being discombobulated or burnt alive (phosphorus or normal burns ?). That can be a little depressing. There are some very interesting comments on the role of journalism and the importance of words, in particular the issue of whether to call someone a terrorist or a freedom fighter, as there is no official definition of terrorism. I also liked the almost poetic way of describing how all foreign armies lose their way in the mystery that is Lebanon.
Be aware that the author is often considered to be strongly biased against Israel and against the Lebanese Christians. To me, it is not clear-cut, but it's the reason why I cannot give it 5 stars. The impression I have is that the author does his best to try and remain objective despite his relatively obvious feelings. The book is factual and probably sincere, but facts as seen by one individual give a necessarily incomplete, and possibly misleading, view of the events. Besides, the religious questions (Muslims vs Christians vs Jews) is intertwined with political issues, which complicates the matter: for example Robert Fisk keeps implying that the Christian Phalange party are nothing but modern-day Fascists. Some comments are clearly unfair or inappropriate: for example when leaving the home of a Christian, he notes that "two Christian children where plucking out the wings of a living bird". What about an interview with Hitler ending with "leaving Chancellor Hitler, I noticed two Austrian children gouging out the eyes of a living cat" ? If you disagree with someone, there are more honest ways to make your point than suggesting that he belongs to an essentially evil people - even if the incident is factually true. It is still a worthwhile read, if only because in the West we tend to get only the pro-Israeli view of the events.
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