Harris does a good job organizing the complex history of Lebanon into a coherent narrative. He is especially good the delicate balance of power between the various religions, regions, and foreign invaders. Lebanon has a rich history that, in the era covered here, involves the Arab dynasties (Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid), the Mamluks, the Ottomans, France, Britain, Syria, the United States, and Israel. The various internal religious sects, traditionally 18 in number, include the Maronites, Greek and Armenian Orthodox Christians, Shi'ites, Sunni (the latter two in nearly equal proportion), and the enigmatic Druze.

It is a lot of material and each of the six chapters of this book could easily fill their own book. Indeed, my one complaint is that the density of information presented here makes the narrative difficult to follow at times. Still this book is an excellent overview and provides a good understanding of how modern Lebanon came to be.

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