From Beirut to Jerusalem Revised Edition by Thomas L. Friedman (Picador)

This book has almost too many good qualities to list. It is excellently nuanced and balanced, detailed enough for the expert, but explained and fast paced enough for the novice of the region. Do not be fooled by the length of the book, it is a genuine page turner, with only a few slow points, and by the end you are wishing someone would take the initiative and cover the years in depth since its printing in 1988. I was initially afraid at a book so old, afraid I would be missing newly found information unavailable at the time of writing, but unfortunately the region, particularly Lebanon and Syria, isn't covered much even by scholars.

Mr. Friedman is passionate about the topic, to be sure, but as he notes, true friends are honest with each other. Having lived in Beirut for a number of years, and then moving to Jerusalem, he has friends on both sides of the situation, but isn't afraid to discuss issues for a real and lasting peace. The biggest issue, for both sides, seemed to be a misunderstanding of the other group. While some Palestinians viewed the Israelis as a minor blip in time on the land, who would eventually surrender the land and leave forever, the Israelis viewed the Palestinians under the umbrella of "Arabs" who would be at home anywhere, refusing to distinguish between an Arab in Egypt and an Arab in Iraq. Leadership, or lack of it, fed into those beliefs. Both sides lacked bold leadership, as neither led from the front, but rather led from the polls. Instead of making bold initiatives toward peace, both felt that time was on their side, when it obviously only made the divisions deeper. In the rare case where leaders did make bold moves (Sadat), they were taken out by their own group, making it even more difficult to lead from the front.

While the time in Beirut was the most interesting to me, his chapter on religion in Israel is really eye opening. We Americans tend to see other countries in generally black and white (West Germany good, East Germany bad) and forget that not all Israeli Jews are the same. The way Friedman goes into this topic is supremely interesting and profound, and something American Jews should certainly look at and discuss.

It is something of a miracle that this book was written, on a region that is so often overlooked. With such an important topic, I'll take away everything bad I ever said about Mr. Friedman. My only regret on this book is that I did not read it earlier. This book is great for someone with very little information on the region or the expert on the region. Read it as soon as you can.