Take a photo of a barcode or cover
mubeenirfan 's review for:
Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon
by Robert Fisk
There are a very few writers you come across who change your entire outlook on certain aspects of human life. For me that writer was Robert Fisk who changed the way I used to perceive the geo-political situation around me and about the suffering of world in general. The Great War for Civilisation (TGW) is (and probably will) remain the book I will keep referring back to whenever I want to understand and lament on what the world has come to due to big agendas of world powers.
Ever since I had read TGW, I wanted to read Fisk's earlier book, Pity the nation to understand deeper the civil war in Lebanon which I had kept hearing about in my teens but was not bothered to research more about at that time. Why I did not read his book earlier was simply because I felt I cannot digest it so soon after reading TGW. There was too much gloom in TGW for me to deep dive into further abyss of human suffering. But I finally picked it up in order to round up a devastating 2016 which has probably been a very rough year in all aspects and so thought, why the hell not.
Robert Fisk is a pacifist. He hates wars for any reason whatsoever. And for that person to witness and then write about Sabra, Shatila & Qana massacres? I can only imagine what he must have gone through knowing I had to stop reading the book several times to close my eyes in hopes of forgetting the tragedy I was visualising through his written words. The book goes in detail on the Lebanese civil war of 80s and the population it consumed (be it politicians, warlords or civilians). Interestingly, the latest Lebanon election has brought the same characters or their descendants back into power folds which makes one wonder if everything in this world does come to full circle eventually.
This book is a master class but is heartbreaking. You will weep if you are sensitive or plunge into a dark mood if you are not, but there is no escaping it.
The title is from a Kahlil Jibran poem who is a famous son of lebanese soil and the poem can be read in full in the link below:
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/744795-pity-the-nation-that-is-full-of-beliefs-and-empty
Ever since I had read TGW, I wanted to read Fisk's earlier book, Pity the nation to understand deeper the civil war in Lebanon which I had kept hearing about in my teens but was not bothered to research more about at that time. Why I did not read his book earlier was simply because I felt I cannot digest it so soon after reading TGW. There was too much gloom in TGW for me to deep dive into further abyss of human suffering. But I finally picked it up in order to round up a devastating 2016 which has probably been a very rough year in all aspects and so thought, why the hell not.
Robert Fisk is a pacifist. He hates wars for any reason whatsoever. And for that person to witness and then write about Sabra, Shatila & Qana massacres? I can only imagine what he must have gone through knowing I had to stop reading the book several times to close my eyes in hopes of forgetting the tragedy I was visualising through his written words. The book goes in detail on the Lebanese civil war of 80s and the population it consumed (be it politicians, warlords or civilians). Interestingly, the latest Lebanon election has brought the same characters or their descendants back into power folds which makes one wonder if everything in this world does come to full circle eventually.
This book is a master class but is heartbreaking. You will weep if you are sensitive or plunge into a dark mood if you are not, but there is no escaping it.
The title is from a Kahlil Jibran poem who is a famous son of lebanese soil and the poem can be read in full in the link below:
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/744795-pity-the-nation-that-is-full-of-beliefs-and-empty