Lebanon

'Arsan's book is an acute portrayal of Lebanon's unsentimental resilience and exhausting challenges ... It is both deeply immersive and narrated with impressive critical detachment.' -- Times Literary Supplement 'Arsan skilfully reviews and analyses major themes . . . Lebanon: A Country in Fragments is well-written and deftly explained . . . strongly recommended.' 'Lebanon seeks to understand, and explain, Lebanon on its own terms. Only by doing that can the story of this complicated country be fairly told ... [this book] can serve as a manual for those in Lebanon wishing to understand their country better in order to change it.' -- Al-Jumhuriya 'This brilliant book immerses us in Lebanon's present. . . caustic, biting and often funny . . if you do not understand Lebanese politics this book is the ultimate key to grasping the complicated history of this small nation.' 'Combining thorough historiography with half-detached ethnographic observation, this brilliant book is the account of a modern Virgil, guiding the reader through Lebanon's Hell and Purgatory while pointing at the country's manifold sinful indulgence.' -- Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies and International Relations, SOAS 'A comprehensive political and social history of post-2005 Lebanon. Arsan provides context, nuance, history and ethnography, all of which are key to understanding this dizzying period. This book is a must-read - a gift to scholars and activists alike.' -- Maya Mikdashi, Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, Rutgers University 'This lively and well-written book provides an excellent narrative of Lebanon's history and an engaging and thoughtful account of the social and political problems that beleaguer it even today.' -- Laleh Khalili, Professor of Middle East Politics, SOAS 'A beautifully written and empathetic account of politics, security and the realm of the ordinary in Lebanon's recent tumultuous years. This is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand this small, crisis-ridden nation.' -- Sarah El-Richani, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications, The American University in Cairo and author of 'The Lebanese Media' 'In writing such a wide-ranging and impassioned book, Arsan has made a significant contribution to scholarship on Lebanon. In particular, his work succeeds in searching out the 'now' of lived experience, drawing on art, social media, journalism, interviews and personal experience. Thoroughly recommended and highly gripping, the general reader and the specialist both have something to gain by reading Lebanon: A Country in Fragments.' -- Asian Affairs Journal