An erudite, and perspicacious exploration of Middle Eastern geopolitics. A trenchant analysis and immersive reportage if there ever was one, Friedman elucidates the mess and clusterfuck of Lebanese and Israeli conflicts. His prose, simultaneously eloquent and incisive, interweaves personal anecdotes with astute historical insight. Though he is verbose, his synthesis of diplomacy, war, and cultural details makes this book a must read comprehending the region’s interminable tumult and its ramifications.

I was first attracted to Friedman by reading "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," which was a fantastic book on its own. I then became more interested in his articles in the New York Times. However the book that started it all, "From Beirut to Jerusalem" always seemed to elude me even though it had won many accolades including the National Book Award. I finanlly decided to read it and finished it almost as soon as I picked it up.

Friedman's style it very engaging and I love the way he illustrates his points anecdotally. He has an uncanny ability to reduce very complicated issues to a level understood by a wide array of readers. "From Beirut to Jerusalem" can be read as a book on politics or a work in cultural geography. Furthermore, there are many other disciplines that Friedman seems to address in recounting his years of experience living in both Beirut and Jerusalem. The book is not a comprehensive history of the conflicting regions nor is it an outright endorsement of the state of Israel. In fact, Mr. Friedman, who is a Jew, has some rather interesting things to say concerning the state of Israel and their behavior over the last couple of decades. He recognizes the legitimacy of the Palestinian's argument and has an even-handed approach to the issue.

My only complaint is that I wish Friedman would continually update the book since the relationship between the Palestinians and the Jews is one of the most dynamic relationships in world politics today. The situation is always evolving.

As is stated by Seymour Hersh on the back cover of my edition, "If you're only going to read one book on the Middle East, this is it." I agree wholeheartedly.

This is a really eye-opening book, especially for someone of my generation. Most of the events in this book happened before I was born or while I was a toddler, and our public education system tends to ignore other countries. So, Friedman provides a thoughtful, insightful analysis of the Middle Eastern problem. He gives a lot of background and makes it interesting by including his own personal experiences with terrorist bombing and hijackings. His personal knowledge of events really shines through.

The discerning reader will notice that Friedman is a lot sharper and more on-point in his analysis of the issues in Beirut. When it comes to analyzing Israel, especially the culture, it seems as if he relies less on facts and more on generalizations. Not to say that his analysis is bad, per se, but it is definitely a bit different when describing the Palestinian problem in Israel and the Arabic-Christian problems in Lebanon.

I feel like this book is a great and necessary read for all Americans from the Zionist Christian tradition as it puts everything in a bit different perspective than "support Israel all the time no matter what they do." At least, I hope that it does.

Unfortunately, some 20 years after the triumphant handshake between Arafat and Rabin that concludes the book ... Israel and Palestine are still at odds with one another.

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One thing is certain, that Lebanon and Beirut are compared to as many fine and fun places as you can find books about the subject. FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM mentions that Lebanon was called the Switzerland of the Middle East. Maybe instead it should be called the land of a thousand names or comparisons? Tom Friedman's book is set in the Wild West Days of [west] Beirut, a city that's always provoked more questions than answers. Per se, an urban jungle where not even the law of the jungle applied. Beirut, in those days, was all crime and no punishment. As such, his journey began between a Mercedes and a Kalashnikov.

The enduring lesson of Beirut is how thin the veneer of civilization is and how easily the ties that bind can unravel. Sitting in the middle of the region, and Friedman being in the middle of trouble in Beirut, he explores the conflict, aka the Palestinian Problem, realizing that Israel also understood to grab for the egg AND the shell. Working with a strong light, Friedman illuminates this area and gives a theory to understanding the Middle East via tribalism, authoritarianism, and statehood. Moreover, some background on the PLO and Arafat, who are never far when trying to understand Lebanon, Syria and Israel, finds itself unto the pages. All in all, Christians, Druse, Shiites, Sunnis, Palestinians, PLO, Maronites, Phalangists, Israelis are in the mix...enough players to make your head spin.

FROM BABE RUTH TO TRUTH SERUM - if William S. Burroughs collaborated with Hunter S. Thompson, they couldn't write anything more confusing, topsy turvey and chaotic than what Beirut was from the 70s to the 80s. Tom Friedman wades through the swamp and cuts through it all with aplomb and makes sense of the tangled web of affairs. He's the real deal. Bipartisan to boot, Israel doesn't get Carte Blanche and the PLO doesn't get coddled. This is a boon as it leaves the reader to take in the information and come to a conclusion themselves. Most likely, the result thereof will mirror the status quo IRL; a stalemate with neither party willing to budge or concede/compromise anything.

In the second part of the book, Friedman starts out with an analysis and comparison of Israel's and Lebanon's respective aims and political systems. You are unlikely to find any better or straight cutting to the heart of the matter. Friedman breaks it all down and comes up with what amounts to, in the words of Sasson, a transplanted grocer, "apples, oranges, and Arabs." FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM is an interesting book for sure as the Israel/Palestine question is the same plight for equality as it is in the US for black citizens, coming to a head in 2020. What makes the situation at home worse is that persons of color, as opposed to Palestinians, are actually citizens of their own country, the United States. Published in 1988, FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM is once again relevant, as the recent struggle in Gaza re-ignited over the same issues that were discussed 33 years ago by Friedman and boiled over 40+ years ago in Beirut and Lebanon. While Tom Friedman has suggestions for a solution, FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM is probably best read for background information in a regional struggle that requires two to tango and to ultimately make peace.

A very detailed account of Friedman's time in Beirut and Jerusalem, including all the gory details and the human aspect of the stories. He evaluates the deep-rooted problems of the Middle East not from a Western viewpoint but indeed builds a good understanding of locals' viewpoints, including their tribal approaches. He presents even a fictional 'peace plan', which is more realistic than what one would expect in Western media. Overall a very interesting book and a very well written story.

Very good book. Easy and interesting to read. It was written in 1989 or so. It covers the case of Lebanon/Israel and up to a point Syria. I highly recommend it. At the end it gets boring so I just skimmed through the last couple of chapters. Also one chapter deals only with Israel and Judaism which I found also not interesting.

I've read it twice - and taken notes. It is not a difficult read, but I was very unfamiliar with the history. It was definitely worth the time and effort.

Read this as part of a college course in 2004 - an interesting view from a journalist and a foreigner of life in the Middle East.

This is an excellent read. Friedman is an eloquent writer.

The first half of the book is a riveting account of Friedman's stay in Beirut between 1979 - 1984 as a journalist for the New York Times. He doesn't try to prove points, but rather makes observations that are reinforced by his actual experiences and a plethora of data he collects, whether this data be a formal interview, a casual conversation, or overhearing a TV or radio ad. These observations all come together to paint an impression of Beirut. As I read, I got the sense that I was forming a clear picture of Beirut for myself, and not one biased toward the author's persuasion.

Beirut came across as a savage, barbaric, beautiful, exciting place, rich in history and culture, and brimming with conflict. I would recommend this book to anyone just for the Beirut half. It's a colorful, intriguing story about a colorful, intriguing place.

The Jerusalem half was not as action-packed as the Beirut half, but interesting nonetheless. It contained more speculation than real experience, if you compare it to the Beirut half. It compared the Israeli Jews' perspective of America and America's perspective of Israel. One chapter I found interesting was the one about the different kinds of Judaism practiced in Israel; how the secular Zionists clash with the ultra-Orthodox Jews (the Haredim). It examined the media coverage of the Palestinian-Jew conflict and tried to get at what the real story was and is. It both applauded and critiqued Israeli politics.

Tớ vừa nhìn thấy một vụ nổ kinh hoàng ở Beirut. Chợt nghĩ đến mấy dòng mà tớ đã viết về Beirut khi đọc xong phần một của cuốn sách này. Thương Beirut.
"Hôm nay, tôi chia tay Beirut thân yêu.
Beirut của tôi không có một thứ tự thời gian nào cả, chỉ có những mảnh ghép và những mảng tối sáng. Mảnh ghép của Beirut không vuông vức, cắt gọt cẩn thận mà chỉ là những tấm hình hỗn loạn, cong đầu mẻ đuôi. Nhưng Beirut ghép lại vẫn là một bức tranh hoàn chỉnh. Đầy tối và sáng. Beirut nội chiến liên miên, Beirut là những quy luật bất thành văn, không có luật gì cả hay là luật Hama của những cá nhân đứng đầu. Beirut hỗn loạn là tiếng nức nở của người trưởng thành và nét mặt ngây thơ của đứa trẻ đang lớn. Beirut còn có trong mình cả sự tĩnh lặng của tuổi xế chiều khi đã đi qua rất nhiều làn bom đạn bắn ra từ tứ phía."

I always wanted to know the background on Israel-Palestine conflict so I picked up this book. Thomas Friedman writes with clarity and since he spent a large chunk of his time in both sides of the conflict, he has certain authority in the matter. The book is split in two parts, first one explains the horrors faced by Beirut and second one talks about an alarming situation in Jerusalem. Even if this books is set in the 80s, it still does a great job in explaining the conflict. If you are interested in knowing details on why these two sides are fighting, this book gives a fairly decent explanation.

Friedman, who is a Jew, should be commended for his objective analysis. It is easy to get biased in the matters of homeland, but he tries to remain as impartial as possible. Friedman gets disgusted at times because of the atrocities faced by Lebanese and Palestinian people, and at the same time does not feel that much agitated by similar attacks on Israeli people. It becomes very apparent in the second part, the part that talks about Israel, that he is more concerned about only one side of the conflict.

Fortunately, many of use have our homelands. It is easy to mock Jews who went through generations of struggle to finally find a place which they can call home. Friedman, who already has a homeland, does not share the sympathetic feeling towards Jews. As if the mocking is not enough, he goes one step ahead and says that Israelis keep bringing up their "victim mentality" by talking about Auschwitz Concentration Camps and the horrors associated with it. On one side he goes on and on about atrocities in Beirut and on Palestinian people, and on other side he does not seem that concerned about the abductions, car bombings, murders of Israeli Olympic team and shooting at embassies. When Palestinians plant bombs in Israeli super markets, on Israeli planes, under the seats in Israeli buses, in Israeli refrigerators, he does not paint it like an atrocious act, but more like a glorious freedom fight.

It is hard to take sides in a conflict which has such a complex and turbulent past. There are mistakes from both sides but Friedman seems to choose one side over other, and that is my biggest disappointment. Having said that, this book is very well researched. Even if I largely disagree with his one-sided views; for his courage, analysis and passion for journalism, Friedman has my total respect!

If you want to study the political geography of Middle East, well you have found the right book. Thomas Friedmann tell us stories of his journey as a journalist from Beirut Lebanon to Jurusalem Israel. He really tell us the un-biased stories between two sides Israel-Palestin and other political issues around the Arab region.

By reading this book, you'll realized how stupid is Arab leader in term of treating his own citizens and getting to know the political organization, social insight in Palestin and Israel.