I first received the 4th edition by Nation Books. The quality of the printing is poor. Some sections of the book are blurry, others are sharp. This is a problem for a 700 page book.

I opted for the 3rd edition from Oxford University Press instead.

The 4th edition by Nation Books is $21 brand new. $9 for the 3rd edition from Oxford University Press.

It's a shame that Nation Books would do such a poor publishing job on such an important work.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

First of all let me say that I'm an admirer of Robert Fisk's courageous journalism, he has risked his life many times to bring the truth to his readership. I am also a strong critic of Israel. However, I must say I was a bit disappointed with this book.

Fisk begins by stating that his book is not a history, and that those who are looking for such should look elsewhere. Now I admit this was something of a letdown for me because I was hoping for some historical background to help me understand the events in Lebanon in the '80's.

Nevertheless I persevered, expecting to gain a greater understanding of the Lebanese conflict regardless. And therein lies my disappointment. Not that the book is entirely devoid of historical context, it's not. But Fisk leaps from one scene to another with such speed that after a couple of chapters one is really struggling to get a handle on the chain of events. One is left mainly with an impression of a country torn by a dozen different militias, without really understanding a lot about what motivates them.

Perhaps in such a chaotic situation it's all but impossible to make sense of, but while I learned something from the book it still left me with a lot of unanswered questions. Why, for example, did Israel invade in the first place? Fisk seems to settle on the notion that it was mainly due to paranoia over terrorism, but there really isn't much discussion of the issue.

While as I've said I'm a strong critic of Israel, I feel Fisk does show a certain bias in his reportage. All of Israel's crimes are examined and by implication condemned chapter and verse, and yet the PLO's own atrocities are usually glossed over in a sentence or two.

The overall impression is that Fisk has set out to challenge the Western media myth that Israel is the blameless victim and the Palestinians irrational brutes. And that's fine as far as it goes, but I don't think one's cause is ultimately served by glossing over those parts of the story which don't fit one's agenda.

What this book does contain is lots of verbal images of death and destruction. Oddly, they frequently left me curiously unmoved, perhaps because of the way they are presented front and centre as if to excite my indignation. One *should* be indignant about wanton killing, certainly, it's just that I prefer to feel it for myself rather than have it thrust upon me.

There are one or two moving moments though. Oddly, one of the most moving for me was Fisk's encounter, not with the dead, but with two teenage Syrian soldiers in exposed positions who are very much alive and wanting some human contact - which Fisk, reluctant to connect with people he knows face almost certain death, guiltily denies them. We almost don't need to go back to the scene later to be shown the traces of human remains in the foxholes where they had sheltered.

This and one or two other scenes apart however, the dead seem more like a sort of grotesque scenery than anything else. Perhaps Fisk should have put a bit more emphasis on the plight of the living instead.

In summary, this book is more of a vivid eyewitness account than an analysis of the conflict. While the book is still well worth the read, those who like me are looking for a history are probably well advised to take Fisk's own advice and look elsewhere.

No better account of Lebanese civil war and Israeli invasion exists. Tom Friedman (also worth reading) is a pale and inadequate substitute.

No better account of Lebanese civil war and Israeli invasion exists. Tom Friedman (also worth reading) is a pale and inadequate substitute.

I read the book even though I lived through all the events mentioned in it. The book is well researched, and brings together many (not most) of the players during the civil war. It starts of in an even handed manner, but as "the years drag on" one can detect some bias towards one side "against" the other. It is inevitable in civil wars that people side with one party or the other, but for a journalist who attempts to be unbiased, it was disappointing. The bias was clearly evident in the choice of words he uses to describe the atrocities of one party or the other.
Although Robert Fisk spent a long time in Lebanon, it does not make him a "native" or for that matter an expert on motives; in that regard his attempts to trace the history of the war, was, in my opinion quite like that of a "westerner". Couple that with his one-sidedness, and the book became very irritating, especially half way through and to the end.
The accusations that he is anti-semitic because he's described and "embellished" his accounts of the Israeli occupation, are basically part and parcel of what the book is about. Robert Fisk comes across in Pity the Nation as someone with a vendetta against everyone (not just the Israelis) except the Palestinians.
Not to belittle the Palestinians' suffering, but although the War "started" because of them, it was not about them. Nor were the Israelis the total demons that he tries to portray them as in the book.
All in all, it is a quite informative book, especially for those who were not there. For those with first hand experience of the war in Lebanon, will quickly detect the "exagerations", but they are not the target market for this book.

Having examined many books on the topic, I found Fisk's book to be the best by far. Granted its not overly academic (he IS a journalist first and foremost) it is still highly readable. I have read this book 3 times and it was most of the reason I went to Lebanon for the summer of 2003 and I have returned 5 times since... as for anti-semetic or anti-israeli? one only has to go to Lebanon to see the horrific damage still glaringly evident in parts of lebanon wrought in large part by israel's invasions. I question if those that accuse him of this have been to see Sabra or Chatila refugee camps or south lebanon, I have and its not pretty. Beside all that, his book is valuable (though somewhat dated) asset in understanding the politics and history of the incredible events ongoing in Lebanon today... great book!

Good Book in case you need to get a neutral opinion about the war in Lebanon.. I am still reading and reading,,,,,,,,,,,,

Robert Fisk does an amazing job at describing with great details the life of a foreign correspondent in Beirut during the 80s. While early in the book the flurry of details could seem overwhelming, it then appears as essential to try to make a sense of what happened then, and more importantly why. Having witnessed a great deal of horrors Robert Fisk still manages to put things in perspective, including his own understanding of the situation then (such as his not foreseeing the wake of suicide bombings in the early 80s).

The book is all the more exceptional that Fisk makes additional efforts to make sure that whatever bias he may have (as all individual are wont to have) is counter-balanced by getting as much sides of the story as possible and avoiding spin. The essence of journalism one would say but all too forgotten today. His sympathies definitely transcend political or national boundaries to go to the people who are suffering. And in trying to understand the motives behind all the atrocities (which all "sides" committed) he epitomizes the search for a clearer, less angry view of a world that's too complex to grasp.

Indeed a refreshing departure from the usual 15-second-long, "terrorist-this, terrorist-that" sound-bites.

I want to congratulate Mr. Fisk for crafting perhaps the most anti-semitic (by this I mean anti-Israel) and biased piece of journalism in a very distinguished field (2nd place goes to daily coverage of the conflict to the BBC). To his credit, and it is the only positive thing I can say about the book, Mr. Fisk clearly states that his editors, or I should say his increasingly "right wing" editors, were not pleased with his coverage but continued it due to the conditions in the war-torn region.

You know when a "journalist" will only write terrorist as "terrorist", (similarly, Reuters refuses to use the word. Instead, they use the word militants to describe the beheaders in Iraq) the tone for the rest of the book is set. Sadly, but revealingly, Mr. Fisk makes it appear that most of the journalists covering the conflict share his anti-Israel pro-"freedom fighers" views (the eventually kidnapped Terry Anderson said all the parties should be called terrorists).

Amazingly, at least in the copy I received, there were no pictures at all.

Mr. Fisk at every opportunity diminishes the threat Israel faced with the UN/Arab backed PLO operating in Beirut.

A truly horrific case of biased journalism from a writer from the country that brought us "sexed-up" lies and other media (MSM) distortions.

"Pity the Nation" is more a diary of Fisk's travels and experiences in Lebanon than a history of the Lebanese Civil War. Fisk vividly describes events he sees, but what occurs beyond his literal field of vision is undocumented. As an example, Fisk spends four chapters discussing the 1982 Sabra and Chatila massacre, but only two pages on the 1985-1988 War of the Camps (where Amal killed more Palestinians than Elie Hobeika).

Fisk brings to life a few of his reporter friends, but the main political actors of the war are only described from a distance.

This book is by a journalist who is part of the problem.

Suppose I were to write a book about the Mafia. And suppose I showed that the Mafia broke the law sometimes, and even went so far as to say that the Mafia was more interested in its cause than in being law-abiding! And suppose that, in an effort to be fair, I also explained that the real problem happened to be those who had the temerity to go after the Mafia and try to bring those in the Mafia to justice. Well, if I did that, I would expect some criticism. And Fisk got some when he explained that the PLO was more interested in its cause than in Lebanon. And he got more when he simply condemned Israeli responses to PLO attacks out of hand. As well as when he dismissed such criticism as Israeli propaganda.

Fisk mentions in his book that journalists in Lebanon started to get some criticism for their unbalanced and inaccurate reporting. As he admits, "Slowly, but with ever-increasing frequency, the Israelis suggested that we were anti-semitic. Like Hitler and Arafat." Well, I don't know if some of the critics he mentions, such as Conor Cruise O'Brien and Martin Peretz, actually quite said that. But O'Brien and Peretz did write about Lebanon and the reporting from there, and O'Brien and Peretz were basically right, while Fisk is basically wrong. Of course, Fisk says it is the other way around.

Part of Fisk's problem is political. That is, he feels it is a counterproductive crime to attack terrorists who have been murdering one's people and who promise to do more of the same. He does realize that some people will attack terrorists anyway. But I think he fails to realize that we ought to expect terrorists to be attacked and that it is a good idea to try to stop terrorism. Still, that is just a political problem. The bigger problem is his misrepresentation of the victims of terror, and his misleading reporting.

Is this book good enough to be worth a star? Not really. But I couldn't find a way to give it zero stars. Just avoid it.

Quite simply, you will never read a more thorough or accurate book about the Lebanese war. Fisk is one of a few journalists out there that can tell it like it is. He spares no one of his critisism. This book accurately points out that all parties were to blame, The Lebanese Christians, the Syrians, the Palestinians, and the Leftists. This is not the book to read if you want to cheer your side on. Rather, read it if you want to know what really happened.