At first I found him annoyingly naive. Then I found him insulting ('Hama Rules' chapter). Then I found it interesting. Then i started to fall asleep. Then i woke up and finished the book. Going to read Edward Said now.

Very thorough in his explanation of the situation, even though now outdated. But it highlights clearly the multi faction and multifaceted conflict. The author does an excellent job of relating his own experience with clear facts for a very informative read.
And even if outdated as mentioned, the similarities between when the book was written and today are sadly uncanny.

I started reading this once before, then had it stolen by Mike Silverburg...bastad! Reacquired at Borders, 2008-04-08

Well, I very much disliked The World is Flat, but this was pretty awesome. Not at all a history, per say (although you'll get a good glimpse of the 80's era, especially the Beirut troubles and the Arafat era prior to the first intifada), but a pretty solid memoir of a fascinating time and place.

Cá nhân mình cảm thấy đây là một cuốn sách khó đọc bởi vì nó chứa đựng quá nhiều cái tên, quá nhiều sự kiện, quá nhiều trích dẫn. Chương 1 thu hút mình mãnh liệt bởi những miêu tả quá thực về một Beirut hỗn độn, nguy hiểm và cũng nhân văn. Tuy nhiên các chương sau, do các sự kiện cứ đan xen nhau mà xuất hiện để làm rõ các phân tích của tác giả do vậy nó không đi dòng thời gian trước sau. Sự phực tạp của chính trị và tôn giáo ở Trung Đông được mô tả cụ thể đến mức tối đa. Tác giả dẫn dắt người đọc trải qua hành trình kỳ lạ từ Beirut đến Israel. Và chương cuối, khiến mình sửng sốt vì tính phức tạp trong các dòng Do Thái giáo và sức mạnh khủng khiếp của tôn giáo đến chính trị và lối sống của người Do Thái. Những câu nói cuối cùng của Hartman khép lại cuốn sách với một tư tưởng không thể tuyệt vời hơn về ý nghĩa nhân sinh "Tôi tin rằng ngày mai sẽ tốt đẹp hơn hôm nay nếu tôi mở rộng được đạo đức, giáo lý, mở rộng được việc cùng chung sống giữa các dân tộc với các nên văn hoá khác nhau, mở rộng chất lượng sống mà không phải là mở rộng các đường biên giới".

This is his only good book. It's a good account of the middle east at the time that he was staioned in Beirut and the writing quality is far better than his current books. It's a great primer if you need middle east politics background

Engrossing account of the Lebanese Civil War on the one hand, and on the other a pretty poignant criticism of the Likud and Labor Unity government leading Israel in the 1980s. The young Thomas Friedman here was at the top of his game as he relied on his years of embedded journalism to chronicle the scene in Beirut and the underlying tribalism; the realities of the anarchy he depicts are more complex than the ones often envisioned with warring factions. At the same time, Friedman uses the book as an opportunity to take to task the leading Israeli politicians for avoiding and not seriously taking on the Palestinian Question. The book was originally published in 1989 and mostly covers his time in Beirut and then Jerusalem from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. Decades have past since then, but the past continues to serve as prologue to events in the Middle East decades later.

I always wanted to read a book that told me the whole story of how things began, how things changed, and how things got so fucked up between Israel, Palestine, and the surrounding countries. It answers all your questions, deciphers who is who, what the hell has actually happened over the last 75 years, and helps you navigate the headlines. I could not put this down. It should be required reading in every high school and household. Extremely well written by a reporter who teaches while describing his personal experiences as an eye witness to extraordinary historical events.

Knowing nothing or Friedman I found it interesting that I was ridiculed for having this book in hand. I guess that's what you get for bringing 'Neo-Con Zionist' literature to an internship in Palestine! My only prior knowledge of the book was that it covered the recent history of the Middle East with a heavy emphasis on the Palestinian and Israeli conflict. I thought I'd dive in for a bit of education. . .

During the first half of the book, Friedman's profession is made very clear, both through his writing, and his writing style. He talks at great lengths of himself as a journalist but also does a great job of reporting on the tumultuous period in Lebanese history. Knowing nothing of these conflicts, I appreciated his presentation of their development and, especially, America's involvement.

By the time Friedman, and the book, move on to Jerusalem, my interest slowly slipped away. Honestly, it was hard to go into the text objectively as those around me continued to tell me how horrible it was, despite never having read the book in full themselves. But, here's what I got out of it.

Unlike Beirut, Friedman presents little fact based history on the development of the Israeli State. Instead, he focuses on the ideological reasons that the country came about, and the implications that these reasons have for a visiting American Jew. An interesting perspective if you're curious as to how Friedman deals with his own religion, but not so much outside of that.

As the book dives deeper into the Palestinian and Israeli divide, Friedman isolates himself as a strong supporter of Israel. While, yes, he makes claims of wanting peace, and recognizing the difficulty of the process, the way in which he frames the situation is, well, antagonistic. I understand that the book was written at the height of the First Intifada, but, even so, continually referring to a people as a collective enemy is not only unscholarly but outright ignorant. Isn't creating 'us versus them' how wars start? Not how they end?

The dichotomy he creates, and adheres to, speaks worlds for his political views and unwillingness to accept the fact that there is a nation of people who have been routinely oppressed by the creation of the State of Israel. I cannot fathom how, or why, as a highly revered journalist, he can get away with the hypothetical speeches he has imagined Prime Ministers deliver at the end of the book. To be so brazen, so negative, so hateful.

I am amazed that he is still so highly regarded. Perhaps his writing since the publication of this book has been more objective. Or, perhaps, it hasn't, and that's exactly what America wants, or thinks it wants.

Ouch.

Now I know why I was mocked for reading it. I don't regret it, I just won't ever go back to it!

I have a life-long interest in the Middle East, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe. Even though this book was published over 30 years ago it offered a close-up look at the great tragedy that is represented by Lebanon, and now Palestine. I choose to read it because it is a ground-level look at those areas and the trouble they have been in for many years.

The story of Lebanon in particular saddens me because it was for years one of most beautiful and cosmopolitan places to experience....it was called "The Paris of the East" or the "Switzerland of the Levant." One could visit and enjoy the culture, the nightlife, the beaches, or the ski slopes. It's collapse due to ancient religious feuds is a great loss to civilization. Friedman does a good job reciting his days there as a young reporter for the NYT.

Then he moved on to Israel, and there he exposes the moral dilemma posed by Israel's land grab policies versus the Palestinians. Friedman is a Jew from Minneapolis, but he brings some blisters on Israeli hides. His views on Zionism and the nature of Judaism are insightful, and sometimes surprising.

The book is wordy and runs 500 pages. In order to stick with it you probably some kind prior interest in those places or cultures.

Ờ Mây Zing!! Gút Chóp :)))) nhưng lắm lúc viết dông dài quá nên trừ 1 sao thanh lịch bạn nhé. Recommend cho bạn nào muốn tìm hiểu sâu về Israel nên tìm đọc cuốn My promised land của tg Ari Shavit nhé.

Incredible! A must read for those interested in the Middle East. Friedman packs a decade of his life experiencing the Middle Eastern geopolitical façade in the late 80s. Neatly packed as a memoir & historical guide, Tom’s satire & allegories make difficult issues comprehensible.

Trigger warning: I was horrified reading the chapter Hama Rules. It provides a clear picture of the Hama Massacre & other casualties that frequently occur in the war zones.

Masterpiece!