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Dec 17, 2009

Brendan rated it:

If you're sick and tired of what a pedantic wind-bag Thomas Friedman has become since his stupid 'lexus & olive-tree' epiphany, take a trip back to when he was less pedantic, less wind-baggish, and could make a point without the use of a dozen unnecessary, self-aggrandizing anecdotes.

From Beirut to Jerusalem is entertaining, well-written, poignant, and a great primer to middle-eastern/Israeli-Palestinian affairs. The Beirut section of the book is a bit better than the Jerusalem sect More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Carli rated it:

I'm not a huge fan of Friedman lately, but this book is great. I thought the section on Beirut to be more autobiographical in terms of relating directly to his experience as a journalist there. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem section seemed more broad. I can't help but wonder (I'm sure I can read his NY Times column if I wanted to find out)how he views events since- post- assasination of Rabin, premiership of Netanyahu, second intifada. At any rate, this is a must read for anyone interested in that are More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Dave rated it:

A very insightful book that tells the story of two different cultures at odds, not just with one another, but with themselves. He draws parallels between these two disparate societies by focusing on each one's search for identity. In addition to the politics, greed, and the arrogant assumption that cruelty can be justified by an invisible sociopath in the sky described in this book, the author also beautifully conveys the dignity and sanity of which human beings are capable, even in the worst More...

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Jul 01, 2009

Noah rated it:

I am woefully ignorant of most of the conflicts in the Middle East, and even though the information in this book is pretty dated, it offers a useful window into the dynamics in Lebanon and Israel. Friedman writes with restraint and insight, and has some truly great pieces of analysis, like the chapter on Israel and Jewish identity. Now if he could only stop indulging his analogy fetish. Which one is it, Tom? Is the Middle East like an ice cream cone, or is it like The Great Gatsby? Make up More...

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Jan 02, 2009

Loralee rated it:

This book follows Friedman's career as a journalist as he was stationed first in Beirut, Lebanon and then in Jerusalem during the 1980's. He shares many antidotes and gives us his perspective of the Mid-Eastern conflict. He arrived in the Middle East during the middle of Lebanon's civil war. He shared how there wasn't just one civil war occurring, but actually three and it was very difficult keeping track of where the fighting was happening. One day Friedman was speaking to a colleague, Ibsan Hi More...

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Nov 12, 2011

Frank added it

An up close and personal account of the middle east conflict as seen by a reporter for the New York Times.
Friedman, an american jew, was UPI’s Beirut correspondent from 1979 - 1981 while Lebanon was in the middle of civil war. In 1982 he became the NYT Beirut bureau chief, staying until 1984 when he was reassigned to Jerusalem.

During his stay in Beirut Friedman reported on the Hama massacre in Syria, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the massacres at Sabra & Shatila refugee camps, More...

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Apr 11, 2011

Jessie rated it:

I bought this book to prepare for a trip to Israel. I ended up reading most of it after the trip, but it was helpful for digesting my trip all the same. I know very little about the Middle East, save for what I learned in Charlie Wilson's War (see my review from summer 2010) and this was a great primer. The writing is spectacular and the amount of information Friedman brings to the table is immense. I found myself wanting the book to be over at the end, but only because I felt like I had been gi More...

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Oct 28, 2010

Subbu rated it:

This book is extremely gripping,well written,and an easy read. I didn't know much about the history of the region in question, but after I was done with this book I walked away a knowledgeable man.

The first 20 pages of the book talks about the history of this region starting from the early 1900s. This is the only part that required some re-reading, to get a firm understanding about who was in conflict with whom and for what reason, before I could continue reading. From there on Friedm More...

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Nov 05, 2009

Khaya rated it:

According to one cynical goodreads reviewer, From Beirut to Jerusalem offers some insight into “two sets of idiots killing each other over a piece of dirt.” My instinctive reaction when I read this was to feel sorry for this reviewer who clearly doesn’t know what it means to have a homeland, and to be so deeply invested in it as to be willing to die for it. My husband pointed out that the reviewer may actually know what it’s like to have a homeland. What the reviewer doesn’t know is what it’ More...

11 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2008

Michael rated it:

Friedman was a NY Times bureau reporter in Beirut (during the Civil War) and Jerusalam (during various wars and conflicts). Although Friedman can be a blowhard who relishes his near-miss war stories a bit too much (one thinks of an old patrician Brit reminiscing about Hunting Tig-ahs in In-jah), this remains the best explanation of Mideast conflicts.

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Jul 11, 2011

William rated it:

Friends had long touted this book to me, as a "must" for understanding the background of the troubled Middle East, with special reference to Israel and her neighbors. All I can say is, I wish I had taken their advice earlier. Friedman, the Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist, has written a readeble (I do not say simple) account of that troubled region. I can quite understand why, in any discussion of modern Isrfael, an early question is: "Have you read From Beirut to J More...

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Oct 30, 2010

E rated it:

This is one of the most interesting and informative books I've
read in a long time. The history of the Middle East is a subject
of which I am quite ignorant and this book gave me a good overview.

I thought the first half of the book concerning Lebanon was
better than the Jerusalem half. The portrayal of the
Lebanese people coping and existing through years and years of
war showed how extraordinary they are. The anecdotes ,some
funny, s More...

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Jul 23, 2010

Dennis rated it:

This book was one that changed my view on the Israeli-Arab conflict of the twentieth and twenty-first century. Friedman examines the roots of this conflict in the context of his early career as a journalist. It lacks many of the annoying characteristics of his recent books: self-aggrandizement and endless predictions. It simply gives an account of the connections and conflicts between two societies that are interrelated and yet abhor the threat that each of them brings to the worldview of the More...

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Jul 18, 2011

Alexander rated it:

A fascinating entry point for those who feel woefully ignorant of the historic and cultural forces driving the conflict in the Middle East. The book begins with a strong analysis of the political deadlock of civil war in Lebanon and moves deftly to the deadlock not so civil peace in Israel. Friedman's book is full of telling quotations that draws the reader through the bewildering maze of the Middle East political psyche. Although he makes it clear that the path out of this maze is perilous and More...

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Jul 07, 2010

Tj rated it:

Alright--so where with in the past 15 years did Friedman go astray? Friedman--or at least the version of himself who narates this book, guiding us through his time as a forign corispondant for the NY Times is a pragmatic journalist with a welcomed eye for the human element of the situation in the middle east. He is also rather unbiased, and candid, allowing the reader to get a feel for his own personal struggles, concerns and insight. He is introspective, not seperating himself from the si More...

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Jul 30, 2011

Sam added it

Friedman offers an in-depth, journalistic recounting of the Lebanese civil wars and the Palestinian uprising of the 1980s. I find the similarities between the IDF's experience in Lebanon and our own experiences in Iraq to be eerie. I wonder if any of the planners of Operation Iraqi Freedom read this book before the invasion. If so, it must not have sunk in. As with most texts on the topic of Israel/Palestine, this book attempts to surmount the insurmountable; yet Friedman's proscriptions are hel More...

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Jul 06, 2009

David rated it:

I checked this book out from the library and was not able to finish it as there were many others reserving the book after me. I am seriously considering buying the book and marking it up.

This book is fantastic for anyone wanting to better understand the conflicts of the middle-east. In just the short time I had the book I came to understand the difference between the Shiite and Sunni Muslim groups, one of the reasons the Palestinians hate the Jews, the political background of the are More...

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Apr 13, 2011

Monty rated it:

This book was published in 1989 by a New York Times journalist who covered the Beirut, Lebanon crisis that took place in the early 1980s. The author assumes you already know about the events. He relates many back stories, sometimes with a sense of humor and always with information about the culture and customs. The last third of this book explains, from the author's point of view, how Israel decided to keep on settling in the West Bank without concern for its affect on the Palestinians while More...

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Jul 24, 2011

Galina rated it:

What an amazing piece of writing! It took me more than 3 months to read it and that is because I wanted to take my time with this book. It is really balanced, tremendously informative and at the same time entertaining.

I haven't read anything as good on the Middle East as Friedman's analysis. His description of life in Beirut is outstanding, his study of Arafat is very insightful, and his dissection of the whole region is unmatched. Besides all that, the author can be quite funny. I lo More...

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Mar 02, 2010

Amy rated it:

Okay, I have to start by saying I only got slightly over halfway with this book, but enough to get a good feel of it. I didn't finish it not because it wasn't good, but because it's a very hard read, not one to pick up in small doses or to attempt when really tired (which seems to be when I get a chance to read!) It's a great book to learn more about the Middle East and why things are the way they are. I feel like I learned a lot and may actually seek out current events stories about the Midd More...

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Jan 09, 2011

Lisa rated it:

This easy-to-read work by New York Times writer Thomas Friedman is an excellent primer for understanding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Mr. Friedman lived in Beirut and Jerusalem from 1982 through the late 1980s, and his account of the cultures involved in the conflict over the Gaza Strip and West Bank is quite detailed. I understand that Mr. Friedman has become a controversial figure. This book, however, is well-written, informative, and presents an even view of the conflict between the Isra More...

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Mar 28, 2009

Joseph rated it:

These days, Friedman is possibly the single worst prose stylist with column space in a major newspaper. But before self-aggrandizing anecdotes, painfully mixed metaphors, and banal truisms were added to his arsenal, he wasn't half bad. And here, he's damn good. Dealing with the Middle East, he weds a lifelong obsession to on the ground experience - the result being one of the most riveting nonfiction reads I've had in a while. Objective without being passionless, personal without being self- More...

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Mar 11, 2009

Kinga rated it:

It was soo cool to read.
Finally, a perspective on the Middle East Conflict that is as unbiased as an American Jew living in Beirut during the 1980's can possibly make it.
As a reporter for the New York Times and as someone who regularly interviewed PLO leaders - it was in his best interest to be fair. Not only so that he can keep on getting interviews, but so that he won't end up shot to bits or blown up to pieces.

Oh, and reading the book made me wish I was a corresponden More...

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Dec 19, 2011

Sterling rated it:

Friedman has a gift for taking complex things - like the political situation in the Middle East - and condensing them into easy-to-follow summaries, stories, arguments, and truisms. "From Beirut to Jerusalem" covers his work as a New York Times correspondent in Lebanon and Israel roughly during the time of the Reagan administration.

The chapter "Hama Rules" and the chapter describing the political spectrum of Israeli Jews were especially enlightening for me.

More...

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Mar 24, 2011

Adam rated it:

Knowing nothing or Friedman I found it interesting that I was ridiculed for having this book in hand. I guess that's what you get for bringing 'Neo-Con Zionist' literature to an internship in Palestine! My only prior knowledge of the book was that it covered the recent history of the Middle East with a heavy emphasis on the Palestinian and Israeli conflict. I thought I'd dive in for a bit of education. . .

During the first half of the book, Friedman's profession is made very clear, More...

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Jul 13, 2010

Daniel rated it:

"From Beirut to Jerusalem" was an interesting read. It centers on the author's experiences in those two cities during some of the most violent, and transformative, moments in the 20th century. After explaining what happened in the region, he continues on towards analysis and a sort of epilogue. Although the book is easy to read, it does take time since you will want to absorb what is being told. There are momements in "From Beirut to Jerusalem" that are very impactful and More...

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Mar 13, 2010

Marit rated it:

This was recommended to me by a friend as a must-read for anyone interested in Israeli politics or history. And I agree. This was Friedman before he became the self-aggrandizing, pompous (though still very smart) writer he is today. I liked how Friedman structured his book, moving back and forth between small, intimate stories and large world politics, and shifting the focus from Beirut to Jerusalem but constantly weaving in other details, historical tidbits, etc. to make a very vivid, fleshed-o More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 18, 2010

Janet rated it:

Today is indeed a day of celebration; I have finished the travails of From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman! Quite a long and arduous journey this was, filled with fear and hope, discouragement and disquiet, anger and aggression, dread and ultimately determination (there had to be determination just to finish it!). And I Praise God that America was founded upon Christian values of faith and freedom.

The historical portion of this book contains much enlightenment for the America More...

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Jun 18, 2009

Sarah rated it:

So I am pretty sure I've lost this book, or it was somehow taken from me. As a result, this review's going to be incomplete, but hopefully to the point.

I've heard a lot about Friedman's writing, its pedantic or sometimes simplistic nature. I didn't always find that to be the case in his examination of Lebanon and Israel in the 1980s. Certainly his conclusions were solid and objective, and his personal experiences as a foreign correspondent color his themes of disunification and We More...

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Feb 13, 2009

Matt rated it:

Friedman's book is easily one of the best primers on the history of the conflict in the mideast. I have mixed feelings about Friedman as a columnist, but this book is built on his time as a journalist in the region - first as a reporter in Beirut, then later as bureau chief in both Beirut and Jerusalem. His time in the region - over a decade - means From Beirut To Jerusalem has an impressive level of comprehensiveness.

While the depth of Friedman's reporting is one of the main stre More...

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