Some notes on the work of Walid Raad (original) (raw)

A History of Modern Lebanon, By: Fawwaz Trabulsi

An updated history of modern Lebanon is long overdue as the last such attempt dates from the mid-1960s. Much has happened since and a lot of new historical material has been uncovered and researched. The last civil war (1975–90) was the occasion for a wealth of intellectual production on Lebanon in a variety of fi elds. Some are remarkable path-breaking works. Nevertheless, the modern history of Lebanon is still full of serious gaps, especially concerning the post-Independence period. On the other hand, researchers have extensively drawn upon European government archives, leaving important primary sources untapped. The Ottoman archives, for one, have been recently organised and made accessible to the public. Unfortunately, the results of most of the research on this vast stock are not yet available for use. Other, more recent, untapped primary sources have been strangely ignored, such as the US State Department Archives. Nevertheless, a number of secondary sources in Arabic, French and English have made precious contributions to the study of different periods of Lebanese history and various aspects of Lebanese life. I am referring here to the works of `Abd al-Rahim Abu Husayn, Albert Hourani, Engin Akarli, Leila Fawaz, Irene Gendzier, Michael Johnson, Kamal Salibi, Meir Zamir, Carolyn Gates, Theodor Hanf, Georges Corm, Wajih Kawtharani, Selim Nasr, Ahmad Beydoun, Samir Kassir, Marwan Buheiry, Mas`ud Dhahir, Waddah Sharara, Eyal Zisser, and others. Their contributions have enriched the present volume in many ways.