Rating: 
Summary: Do try to find this book
Review: ...It is well worth the effort of tracking down. Many aspiring novelists would benefit from acquainting themselves with Fisk's powerful, unpretentious prose and the book itself is revelatory. On almost every page he tells you something that leaves you inwardly gasping. Forget all those recent books with Bin Laden on the cover. If you really want to read a book about Middle Eastern history and politics, this is the one to start with.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: As a Lebanese who witnesed the war from its begining at the age of 4 till its end at the age of 29 I can say that I have NOTwitnesed anything till I read Fisk's Book. It is an insight view of the Lebanese war and the Palistine_Israel Conflict from a non Arab - Non Jews point of view.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable. A must read.
Review: Being on hand to witness the plight of the Lebanese under different occupation regimes, Robert Fisk is able to construct a first-hand account of events, including the massacres at Sabra and Chatilla, as well as the massacres at Qana. The heart-wrenching description of the massacres will dispute the US-based media portrayal of Israel as a forever "victim" nation.
Rating: 
Summary: Read with caution
Review: Fisk's book covers an impressive landscape, the nearly fifteen years of blood-letting that tore Lebanon apart. It is beautifully written and deeply moving.But... I think that Fisk is more than a little anti-West. What are the clues that make me suspect this? Well, there's the fact he lists Noam Chomsky, a virulently anti-American writer and darling of the left, as the most insightful analyst of the Middle East situation. Then, there is the fact that he spends an enormous amount of time blaming the United States and Israel for what happened in Lebanon. Fair enough. But I felt like shouting, "Okay, Mr. Fisk, what would you have done if you had been President Reagan or Menachem Begin?" Surely, Fisk must have some idea of what could have been worked out in Lebanon. It's easy to criticize. It's harder to come up with a viable solution. Finally, there's the grotesque claim made on page 615 that the United States' 1986 bombing of Libya in retaliation for its attack on LaBelle Discoteque (April 5) in Berlin was unjustified, that the Syrians did it and not the Libyans. My response to that statement is "Oh, really?" Fisk doesn't give any sourcing for his assertion. I checked the news archive I subscribe to and could discover no news story that substantiates Fisk. I could find nothing on the Internet to corroborate him either. Finally, in the book "Best Laid Plans," the authors there lay out the sequence of events that were the smoking gun of Libyan involvement in the terrorist attack. These were three messages from the Libyans intercepted by the National Security Agency and the British signals intelligence organization: 1. March 25, 1986: The Libyan intelligence service orders Libyan "People's Bureaus" in Europe to develop plans for terrorist attacks against Americans in Europe. 2. April 5, 1986 (just before the LaBelle explosion): The Libyan "People's Bureau" in East Berlin predicts a "joyous event" will take place. 3. April 5, 1986 (just after the bombing): The People's Bureau reports that "the operation" was a success and cannot be traced to Libya. Remember. These messages were intercepted after a sharp confrontation between the United States and Libya in the Gulf of Sidra and during a wave of Libyan terrorist activity. What more, pray tell, could Fisk possibly want by way of evidence that the Libyans were guilty of the bombing? Would Colonel Qadhafi have to put up a web page titled, "I DID IT" before Fisk believes? I don't know if you ever check reviews of books that you wrote years ago, Mr. Fisk. If you do, it would be nice to hear you substantiate (in a convincing way) your claims. If you can't do that, I think you owe your readers a simple little statement, "I was wrong." For now, however, I advise students of the Lebanon conflict to read his book, but with a dash of skepticism.
Rating:
Summary: I HIGHLY recommend this book
Review: I admit I enjoy reading and learning things no matter how graphic and shocking (burning phosphorus baby, rape, cluster bombs hit civilian places, methods of torture in Israel and Syria, and lies which cripple and kill)the author describes them to be. Especially coming from a journalist with a principle of actually physically being to the places he writes about...not just regurgitating incomplete or incorrect info over and over again like the mainstream TV media sometimes does. The book is written in a simple language but its hard to overlook the amount of research that went into it and his sometimes annoying meticulous attention to detail(names, places, dates). Undoubtedly he is ready to support every single sentence and had done so on various occasions defending himself from accusations. Most things in this book are not exactly favorite subjects of discussion with the mainstream media, especially in the US. I was following R.Fisk's reports for a couple of years now and Ill venture to say that only a truly interested scholar truly inquisitive person -nomatter what nationality will look beyond hatred and racial prejudice and appreciate this work.
Rating:
Summary: Great book but...
Review: I agree with Shaun Richardson's comments. This is a very interesting book, but I am a bit disappointed that Fisk suscribes so easily to Chomsky rhetorics or to the propaganda from Syrian papers.
In his foreword to the most recent edition of this book for instance, Fisk tells us that:
1- Arafat had all reasons to walk from the negotiations held at camp david after Barak's "so-called generous proposal", and therefore put the blame for the second intifada only on Sharon.
2 - the assassination of Elie Hobeika, phalangist mass murderer and main responsible for the atrocious slaughter of Sabra and Chatila was planned by the Israelis (he implicitly says it) echoing in that again the Syrian propaganda.
Although, everyone can agree that Sharon is indeed a very controversial figure, i tend to disagree with the two points raised by Fisk, and the latter only lays on the imagination of the author.
I would strongly recommend to read "Israel's Lebanon War", and also "The Case for Israel" for some of the Israeli-Palestinan issues.
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Summary: Wonderful, yet heartbreaking!
Review: I first started reading Fisk couple years ago from his columns in the Independent Newspaper. During the Second Gulf War he made so excellent observations and comments that my respect and admiration for him grew a lot.. When I wanted to read a book about the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict I knew exactly which address to go to: A journalist who has been living in Beirut for around 20 years, who is unbiased and intelligent enough to interpret what really is going on, a.k.a. Robert Fisk..
This book is truly marvelous, totally unbiased and very informative. If you want to get a good grip of what really is going on in the Middle East, you have to read this book.. It's easy to read and you won't regret neither the money nor the time you spent on this book.. This is the only book that made me burst into tears as I'm reading it.. I don't usually write comments, but with this book I felt like this is the least I can do.. More people should read this and open their eyes!!!
Rating:
Summary: a brief correction
Review: Just a brief comment on the Berlin bombing. Another reader referred to Fisk's suggestion that Libya might not have been behind the bombing as "grotesque". He cites, as conclusive evidence, the interception of Libyan transmissions by US and British intelligence forces. I'm no expert on the matter, but I am aware that former Mossad case worker Victor Ostrovsky, in his book The Other Side of Deception, claims the connection was a Mossad sting operation. Further, Noam Chomsky, among others, discusses the matter and gives further references in Necessary Illusions, appendix V, which support the view that that "the West German police intelligence team investigating the bombing had no knowledge, and had never had any knowledge, of any "Libyan connection"". Moreover, Chomsky states that there was a "report from Berlin, half an hour before the U.S. attack on Libyan cities, that U.S. and West German officials had no evidence of Libyan involvement in the disco bombing in Berlin, only "suspicions," contrary to administration claims of certain knowledge ten days earlier". If this information is correct, then I think it might be possible, then, to say that Fisk's opinion, as opposed to the atrocity of the bombing, is not as "grotesque" as the reader claims.
Rating:
Summary: Heart-wrenching Journey to Hell
Review: Mr. Fisk's account of the wars that have ravaged the Lebanese society is peerless. Rarely have I read a book that so realistically depicted the sundry horrors of armed conflict. Further, the books provides the much-needed context to the current situation in the Middle East, and finally exposes all the suffering, the double standards, and key players that have made the region such a complex riddle. And while it covers a conflict that, for one reason or another, has long been forgotten, it successfully makes the reader aware of the fact that the seeds of discontent that were sown in 1948 are still growing to this day. Besides a number of realistic depictions of the horrors of war, the book also dissects the notions of "terrorism" we generally take for granted and thereby shows how the use of language, as well as the manipulation of the media, will inevitably bias our understanding of what is, unarguably, an emotionally-charged situation. As with many a conflict, the book leads the reader to the conclusion that "solving" the Israeli-Palestinian issue will ultimately require nothing less than a region-wide (and honest) effort. Found many echoes of current US policy as well, where the "honest broker" gets sucked into a culture it does not fully comprehend. There are lessons to be learned from this book-lessons with immediate applicability-but somehow I have doubts that the powers that be in Washington have enough cognitive staying power, if not a sense of moral probity, to read it. Absolutely brilliant, daunting in size but altogether satisfying. Anyone who wishes to reach a better understanding of the headlines emerging from the Middle East simply cannot afford not to read this book. Made me wanting more, horrors notwithstanding. If only Mr. Fisk could be more prolific...
Rating:
Summary: The best book on the MIddle East you will ever read!!!
Review: 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.
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