Spirit of the Phoenix : Beirut and the People of Lebanon

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9781569766033
• ISBN10: 1569766037
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2010-09-01
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Summary

Through a combination of oral history, journalistic investigation, and personal observations, this narrative creates a positive living portrait of a people and celebrates the resilience, resourcefulness, and spirit that unite the Lebanese. From the Hezbollah heartlands to Beirut's designer stores, the objective account offers an introduction to the country's fractious politics and demonstrates how Lebanon serves as a template for the Middle East--positing that what happens in Lebanon is replicated elsewhere and what happens elsewhere is reflected in Lebanon. Blending a cacophony of voices--foot soldiers, priests, refugees, warlords, and gangsters--that represent the diverse Alawite, Armenian, Maronite, Druze, Shiite, and Sunni religious sects, the book examines what Lebanon is all about; why this tiny, fertile, Mediterranean country has become a world symbol of violence and chaos and is able to impact the superpowers; and how the Lebanese manage to thrive as a society and culture in the midst of enormous strife. Sitting at the center of the war-torn Middle East, Lebanon seems eternally on the brink of crisis. But what is the country all about? Why has this tiny, fertile Mediterranean country--smaller than the state of Connecticut--become a world symbol of violence and chaos, able to impact the superpowers? And how have the Lebanese been able to thrive as a society and culture in the midst of such strife? InSpirit of the Phoenix: Understanding Beirut and the People of Lebanon veteran journalist Tim Llewellyn looks to the people themselves for the answers. Wandering the countryside, the towns, and the streets of Beirut, where he lived during the country's civil war, he seeks out the essence of this diverse, volatile, fascinating land where many trace their ancestry to the ancient Phoenicians. The Druze, the Maronites, the Shia, Sunnis, Armenians, Alawites--Llewellyn encounters them all, talking with footsoldiers, priests, refugees, warlords, and gangsters to evoke the cacophony of narratives, cultures, and memories that resound throughout the country, Combining oral history, investigation, and personal observations, Llewellyn creates a living portrait of a people and celebrates the resilience, resourcefulness, and spirit that unite the Lebanese from the Hezbollah heartlands to Beirut's designer stores.Spirit of the Phoenixprovides an introduction to the country's fractious politics and an unforgettable examination of an irrepressible people able to rise again and again from the ashes but never able to escape their warring neighbors and the violence of their region.

Author Biography

Tim Llewellyn is a former BBC Middle East correspondent based in Beirut, where he covered the civil war. An important voice in the debate on the political future of the region, he currently writes for the Guardian and the Observer.

Table of Contents

Brief Chronology	p. vii
Dramatis Personae	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xvii
Maps	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
The Making of Presidents	p. 9
First Meeting with the Martyrs	p. 19
Up Among the Christians	p. 29
Lunch with Priest and Parishioner	p. 43
The Bus to Civil War	p. 53
Another Kind of Christian	p. 73
Fugitives from the Catastrophe	p. 89
The Hills Above the City	p. 111
The South: Under Enemy Eyes	p. 135
The Making of the Border	p. 151
The Sheikh Makes His Point	p. 165
The People's Republic of Tyre	p. 173
An Interrupted Afternoon	p. 193
Mr Unifil	p. 203
Among the Believers	p. 213
New Lines in the Sand	p. 229
In Search of Sunnis	p. 235
Endnotes	p. 249
Bibliography	p. 255
Index	p. 257
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