Long a bridge between the Middle East and the West, a meeting ground of Islam and Christianity. Lebanon was a prosperous symbol of the harmonious coexistence of different ethnic and religious communities. After 1975, however, the "Switzerland of the Middle East" seemed to be transformed into a combat zone where the flames of violence fanned every ethnic, religious, and political rivalry in the region. With impartiality and precision, Picard traces the evolution of Lebanon from its founding to the present.

She analyzes the causes and effects of the civil war - what and who have been destroyed, which powers have predominated and to whose benefit - and she explores realistic solutions to the conflict. Picard also provides a remarkably revealing account of the PLO, Israeli, and Syrian interventions in Lebanese politics.

1. One of the few books to address the tension and instability in Lebanon and their underlying causes with attention to the many nuances. Lebanon: A Shattered Country gives us a clearer view of what is happening in a country whose turmoil seemed to defy solution. This sane and startling account is crucial not only for those concerned with the Middle East, but for anyone who seeks to understand nationalism, violence, the political manifestations of religion, and the limits of current political theory.