David Hirst was for many years the Middle East correspondent of the Guardian

David Hirst was for many years the Middle East correspondent of the Guardian. His seminal book on the Arab-Israeli conflict, The Gun and the Olive Branch, has been in print for thirty years.

David Hirst was for many years the Middle Eastern correspondent of The Guardian. He has been banned from six Arab countries and kidnapped twice in the course of his distinguished career.

Beware of Small States' wrote Mikhail Bukanin in 1870. He could have meant Lebanon: a sectarian state no bigger than Wales that has become battleground for one of the defining conflicts of twentieth-century history. Throughout its short existence, it has been attacked, invaded, occupied or interfered with to serve the political interests of foreign powers, resulting a series of devastating wars and crises. Beware of Small States' wrote Mikhail Bukanin in 1870.

Beware of Small States is a history of the Arab-Israeli conflict as seen through the prism of its impact on the internal development of neighbouring Arab states, particularly tiny, fragile Lebanon, the sectarian state par excellence and historic battleground for other peoples'.

Beware of Small States is a history of the Arab-Israeli conflict as seen through the prism of its impact on the internal development of neighbouring Arab states, particularly tiny, fragile Lebanon, the sectarian state par excellence and historic battleground for other peoples' conflicts. As a long- term Middle East correspondent of the Guardian, few people are as well qualified as David Hirst to write it. He deals well with the complex historical relations between early Israeli leaders and the "pro-Zionist" Maronite Christians who dominated the neighbouring state.

David Hirst (born 1936) is a Middle East correspondent based in Beirut. Beware of Small States: Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East (2010). ISBN 978-0-571-23741-8. He attended Rugby School from 1949 to 1954 and performed his national service in Egypt and Cyprus from 1954 to 1956. From 1956 to 1963, he studied at Oxford University and the American University of Beirut. He reported for The Guardian from 1963 to 1997 and has also written for The Christian Science Monitor, The Irish Times, the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, Newsday, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Daily Star in Lebanon.

Beware of Small States book. David Hirst-a former Middle East correspondent for The Guardian, whose tough, skeptical voice has earned him death threats and seen him banned from six Arab countries-crafts a narrative that is essential for anyone wishing to understand the current political climate of the Middle East.

Beware of Small States purports to be a "definitive history of Lebanon. Actually, it's a (mostly) definitive history of the role Lebanon has played as both a pawn and an agent in the ongoing battles between Arabs, Israelis, and Iranians, making the case for Lebanon as linchpin rather than little guy in the peace (or war) process. A former longtime Middle East correspondent for The Guardian, Hirst has lived in Lebanon for 50 years, reported extensively on the region, was kidnapped twice, and has been thrown out of a half-dozen Arab countries because of his work. The Book, In His Words. This book didn't start out as a history of the Arab-Israeli struggle.

David Hirst’s Beware of Small States demonstrates the disastrous effect of these deficits on Lebanon’s recent history. its collapse into civil war in the 1970s; Israel’s invasion in 1982; the rise of Hizbullah, with Iranian support; the ascendancy of fundamentalist Islam; and the attempt to redraw the map of the Middle East to make Israel the cornerstone of a peaceful region. Israel’s role in Lebanon features prominently in Hirst’s narrative. He acknowledges that this book did not start out as a history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

A definitive history of Lebanon, from one of the region's most celebrated and controversial journalists.

Full recovery of all data can take up to 2 weeks! So we came to the decision at this time to double the download limits for all users until the problem is completely resolved. Thanks for your understanding! Progress: 9. 8% restored. A definitive history of Lebanon, from one of the region's most celebrated and controversial journalists.

In this magisterial history of Lebanon, from the end of Ottoman rule to the Hezbollah and Hamas wars of today, acclaimed and fiercely independent Middle East journalist and historian David Hirst charts the interplay between a uniquely complex country and the broader struggles of th. .

In this magisterial history of Lebanon, from the end of Ottoman rule to the Hezbollah and Hamas wars of today, acclaimed and fiercely independent Middle East journalist and historian David Hirst charts the interplay between a uniquely complex country and the broader struggles of the modern Middle East attleground on which the region's greater states pursue their strategic, political, and ideological conflicts-conflicts that sometimes escalate into full-scale proxy wars. Hirst warns that only serious diplomatic action from the Obama administration can prevent the next.