Mirror of the Arab World

The security of the West is threatened by escalating turmoil rising out of the Arab states is Lebanon, a small, tortured country poised uneasily between East and West. Improbably, this most unique of Arab states has much to teach about the Arab world. Like many Arab little sense of common identity and no strong central government.

Sandra Mackey (1937-2015) was a veteran journalist who had written many books on the Middle East, including The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein, Lebanon, The Saudis, and The Iranians.

Incisive, timely, and eminently readable. A wonderful guide to the complexity of the brewing conflict in Lebanon and what it will mean for the Middle East. --Vali Nasr