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, some sad, some horrible made the account both personal
and interesting.

The Jerusalem account seemed more of a philosophical
discussion of the views of the various Jewish political factions
and the Arabs and Palestinians. Although he is Jewish, the
author did a good job of remaining objective.