A house of many mansions: The history of Lebanon reconsidered - Hardcover

Salibi, Kamal S

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1850430918 ISBN 13: 9781850430919

Publisher: I.B. Tauris, 1988

Synopsis

Today Lebanon is one of the world's most divided countries - if it remains a country at all. But paradoxically the faction-ridden Lebanese, both Christians and Muslims, have never shown a keener consciousness of common identity. How can this be? The Lebanese historian Kamal S. Salibi examines, in the light of modern scholarship, the historical myths on which his country's warring communities have based their conflicting visions of the Lebanese nation. The Lebanese have always lacked a common vision of their past. From the beginning Muslims and Christians have disagreed fundamentally over their country's historical legitimacy: Christians on the whole have affirmed it, Muslims have tended to emphasize Lebanon's place in a broader Arab history. Both groups have used nationalist ideas in a destructive game, which at a deeper level involves archaic loyalties and tribal rivalries. But Lebanon cannot afford these conflicting visions if it is to develop and maintain a sense of political community. In the course of his lively exposition, Salibi offers a major reinterpretation of Lebanese history and provides insights into the dynamic of Lebanon's recent conflict. He also gives an account of how the images of communities which underlie modern nationalism are created.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"Kamal Salibi is the foremost living historian of Lebanon, and his new book is even more important than his earlier one because it throws light ont he present and future of the country as well as its past."—Albert Hourani, author of A History of the Arab Peoples

"Among Lebanese historians only Kamal Salibi has the credibility to write such a book. Its timely appearance signals a new era in Lebanese history. It will undoubtedly become a classic"—Nadim Shehadi, Director, the Centre for Lebanese Studies, Oxford

About the Author:

Kamal Salibi is Professor of History at the American University of Beirut. He has published many articles, and among his books are The Modern History of Lebanon and Crossroads to Civil War.

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 1850430918
• ISBN 13: 9781850430919
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 247