Jon Randal's 'Tragedy of Lebanon': A timely re-issue amid regional turmoil
Posted by Helena Cobban on February 14, 2012
Amid daily reports that now link the rising violence in Syria with networks and groups in Lebanon, Just World Books is delighted to be publishing a timely re-issue of Jon Randal's acclaimed 1983 study of the rise and activities of the extreme rightwing Christian in Lebanon. The new volume is titled The Tragedy of Lebanon: Christian Warlords, Israeli Adventurers, and American Bunglers. (The earlier edition was published in the United States under the slightly unfortunate title "Going All the Way"-- a moniker that, Randal now tells us in the thoughtful, all-new Preface to the current volume, was first suggested to him by John Le Carré.) Randal's poignant and still fresh recounting of the devastation wrought during the Lebanese Civil War is now available online for purchase in advance of publication, with free shipping offered until February 29.
In the new Preface, Randal offers timely analysis that sheds light on recent events in the Middle East and connects them to the past conflicts in Lebanon that he so skillfully chronicles in his work. In his own words:
When originally published in 1983, this book broke new ground in chronicling how Lebanon’s willful Maronite Christian hardliners committed political suicide and helped plunge their small, religiously complicated country into spasms of violence that have yet to subside completely. When the book came out, Lebanon was still only eight years into a lethal tangle of internal civil conflict and armed intervention by outsiders that continued well into the current century. But today the Middle East, the United States, and the wider world still feel the effects of that tumult. Perhaps immodestly, I would argue that my book helped sound the alarm of abiding trouble to come.When it was first published, Tragedy of Lebanon won wide acclaim. Author Hugh Pope raved, "It is one of the first accounts of the misadventures of the Middle East to give a fair voice to all sides and satisfactorily explain what really goes on” while The Los Angeles Times has praised the work as “solid, passionate and insightful.” Fellow author and journalist Patrick Cockburn declared that it was “the best book on Lebanon" and encouraged "anybody who wants to know what has happened or is likely to happen in the Middle East" to read the book.
Just World Books is delighted to be publishing The Tragedy of Lebanon during the year that will see-- this coming Septmber-- the 30th anniversary of the massacres at Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Those massacres, which were were committed by the very militias that Randal had been studying since 1974, form the culmination of the narrative of the book. All those seeking to understand the back-story of what happened at Sabra and Shatila should buy-- and read-- this book!
Another feature of the book is the historic image used as wraparound on the cover. It is a searing photo of a Phalangist gunman herding terrified residents out of the burning Beirut slum, Qarantina, which the Phalangists seized, and ruthlessly "cleansed" of all its longtime Palestinian and Lebanese Muslim residents, in January 1976. This photo was taken by the courageous French photojournalist Françoise Demulder. It brought her the World Press Photo of the Year award for 1976-- making her the first woman to win this prestigious prize.
Ms. Demulder passed away in 2008. Her photo is used on the book's cover by permission.
A fresh, very relevant new edition of a classic, The Tragedy of Lebanon promises to help English-language readers understand much more about the political currents that flow vigorously throughout the Middle East today. You can get a copy of this outstanding book by ordering it here.
Other News
2012
Nakba Day: Remembering Through Palestinian Stories
Every May 15th, Palestinians and their allies around the world commemorate Nakba Day, the Catastrophe, the displacement and dispossession that Palestinians suffered as a result of the 1948 war and the establishment of the state of Israel. This is a time not only to reflect on what was lost as families fled their homes becoming stateless refugees, but also a time to remember the Palestinian culture and to anticipate a resolution to the 64 year old crisis that has cost so many so much. Here at Just World Books, we have a number of titles that poignantly address these issues; Miko Peled's new book The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine, Jon Randal's reissued classic The Tragedy of Lebanon: Christian Warlords, Israeli Adventurers, and American Bunglers, and of course, Laila El-Haddad's always popular Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything in Between.
2012
"Gaza Mom": An inspired gift for Moms, Dads, or Grads!
What could make a better gift for a Mom, a Dad, or a new Graduate in your life than a copy of Laila El-Haddad's engaging, informative, and often wryly funny Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything In Between? You can order your gift copy of copies of El-Haddad's fine book here. El-Haddad has been a busy woman lately! Recently she was seen speaking around the state of Colorado under the auspices of the friends of Sabeel... and last month she was discussing the fate of Palestinian refugees on Al Jazeera's "The Stream" program... Meanwhile, anticipation of her upcoming book with fellow writer and photographer Maggie Schmitt, The Gaza Kitchen cookbook, has been on the rise as well. The National recently wrote a glowing preview of their cookbook, where El-Haddad explained the motivation behind this much-awaited JWB publication:
2012
Fabulous JWB author events, coming up!
Two of our great Spring 2012 authors, Miko Peled and Jon Randal, have some great book events coming up! If you live in Southern California, Washington DC, or New York, then you'll have a chance to see one of them soon. Peled is speaking to a hometown audience in Coronado, CA, this Thursday, at 6:30 pm, about his fabulous book The General's Son. Randal, who nowadays calls Paris, will be speaking about The Tragedy of Lebanon (and of the Palestinians who got caught up in Lebanon's punishing civil war) at two public events in Washington, DC: an evening event on Tuesday, May 8, and a noon-time event on Wednesday, May 9. Check back for details... Then on Friday, May 11, he'll be speaking at this excellent 10:30 am event in New York, right next to the U.N. building.
2012
At the webstore: Special Lebanon package-- and many price reductions!
Tell your friends about the two great new deals we're offering customers at the JWB webstore. Firstly, we're offering a new 'Witness to War in Lebanon' package that brings you two great titles for only $25 (a saving of $7 over buying them separately.) More details, below... Secondly, we've instituted longterm price reductions on a number of paperback titles for customers residing in all areas other than the United States or United Kingdom. For example, check out the prices we're now offering these customers for Laila El-Haddad's Gaza Mom (now $26), or Rami Zurayk's Food Farming and Freedom (now $25.) Prices for customers in the U.S. and U.K. remain at their previously existing low (bargain!) levels.
2012
Helena Cobban speaks, brings JWB books to North Carolina, April 15-18
Just World Books owner Helena Cobban will be speaking on current Middle East developments-- and also, bringing some of JWB's most relevant and topical books-- to community gatherings in North Carolina, April 15-18. Mark your calendars if you live in Asheville, Raleigh, or Durham-- and of course, be sure to tell your friends, too! The schedule is below.
2012
Six JWB ebook titles now on sale at webstore!
Avid readers-on-the-go can now load up their ebook readers with JWB titles-- from our webstore! We just put six of our titles up onto the new "Ebook department" in the webstore, where they are available for download from anywhere in the world. More will be coming soon. Indeed, it is our plan to have all our existing books published in ebook versions by the end of April-- and to have our new titles out as ebooks very soon after their formal publication date.
2012
Taking orders now for Matt Zeller's 'Watches Without Time'
Just World Books is very proud to be publishing Matt Zeller's very important and timely book, Watches Without Time: An American Soldier in Afghanistan-- and we are now taking advance orders for it on this page at our webstore. Zeller is a highly decorated U.S. Army veteran who in 2010, when he was just 28 years old ran for the U.S Congress in NY's 29th District. (Sadly, he lost.) Watches Without Time is a collection of the vividly written and very carefully observed accounts he sent home to family and friends during the large portion of 2008 that he spent, as a U.S. Army first lieutenant, training Afghan security forces in Ghazni Province.
2012
Miko Peled's "The General's Son": Shipping now, and excerpts at Mondoweiss!
We are pleased to announce that Miko Peled's memoir The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine is in print and orders are being fulfilled. If you placed an advance order, then your copy is being shipped. If you haven't placed an order yet, you can go to the JWB webstore and buy your copy now. Also, the renowned blog on Middle East affairs, Mondoweiss, has published an exclusive and extensive excerpt from the book. We are so proud of how The General's Son has turned out and we are excited to help Peled share his arresting story with the world.
2012
Soli Özel of 'Troubled Triangle' talks about Turkey's regional role
In a recent interview in the Just World Books podcast series, Turkish political scientist Soli Özel said he thought the decision Turkey made last August to side with the Syrian opposition against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was taken a bit hurriedly, putting Turkey onto a somewhat awkward “single-track path.” He also talked about the importance of the Turkish model of a Muslim-led democracy to the newly elected Islamist parties in Egypt and Tunisia. Özel was one of two Turkish contributors to JWB's recent title Troubled Triangle: The United States, Turkey, and Israel in the New Middle East.
2012
Come visit our new webstore!
We are pleased to announce that the new Just World Books webstore is open for business, and more titles will be put on its shelves every week for the next few weeks! The store and the print-&-distribute system that backs it up now allow us to ship books easily and inexpensively to residents of the U.K. and Australia, as well as the United States! Not to worry if you live elsewhere, because we can still easily ship all over the world from one of our three printing hubs, though with some additional shipping costs (Contact us for details).
