Hezbollah: Born with a Vengeance

by Hala Jaber

Book Overview

Revered by many fundamentalist Shiites and reviled by the West, Hezbollah is considered to be a paradigm for other militant groups wishing to make the promise of Islamic Revolution a reality. Journalist Hala Jaber was granted exclusive and unparalleled access to the inner circle of this organization, and she exposes not only its tactics, but also its history, ideology, and culture.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231108346
• ISBN13: 9780231108348
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.3"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Essential for any who would study the region's past, present and possible futures.

HEZBOLLAH has been synonymous with terror for decade, but few books examine its reputation, evolution, and development. This book is an essential recommendation for any college-level or specialty collection strong in Muslim history and culture: it surveys the party's ties to Iran, its members, and its involvement in Islam and not only provides a history, but interviews hostage takers and victims alike to shed light on philosophy, action, and culture. Essential for any who would study the region's past, present and possible futures. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

it a good book with lots of facts

i liked the book..it showed lots of facts..and as a person from south lebanon...i could tell whats right and whats wronge..especially reading a book about south lebanon and the war which went down therethis book showed the history of the shiite..althought it was short but so much constructive and it was the base for the story to come which is the emerging oh hizbollah...many pple have a dark view about hizbollah but the thing that they dont know is the conditions and the enviroment which gave the GO sign to hizbollah...and some of those conditions were mentioned in the book espcially the conditions of the shiite in the arabic world and especially lebanon which saw the creation of hizbollah..iam not gonna go into details...but read the book and ull know what iam talking about.

A journey into Hezbollah corridors...

Reading hezbollah: born with a vengeance by H.Jaber gave me a good introduction to the history of such an organization. It made me think differently taking into consideration the study Jaber undertook into the dark corridors of Hezbollah when no one tried to go deep into their beliefs. Nowadays, with media coverage and the current affairs in the region, the hezbollah movement became more known and more people got to discover their intentions and why they had to fight for their rights in the way they did. I always believed they were freedom fighters, I could understand how someone is fighting for his own land, it is theirs and Israel was occupying it. Anyone who thinks that hezbollah is only labelled as a terrorist movement, definitely never felt the imprisonment in his own house and land....Imagine you can't have an orange from your garden that you yourself planted but not allowed to have a bite because your occupier is benefiting. The rise of Hezbollah as clarified by Hala Jaber gives different angles to how you can look at them, but at the same time she puts you on her track of thoughts to be able to see what she saw and what she endured.Maybe being a Lebanese made her more vulnerable to criticism from many other people who think that hezbollah are mass murderers, terrorists, fanatics and ignorant militias. That is just wrong and one can't just draw a line under such recognition just because one's background influences such beliefs.what I really respect about Jaber, is her writing her research in English just to make it possible for a western audience to take a glimpse at a part of the world she wanted to shed the lights on.A good critique is a criticism that tries to show the book in its literary worth and not based on the reader subjective points of views. It is ok for the reader to not agree with Jaber sometimes but in a constructive way not just for the sake of destroying this piece of work...

A good and informative read!

As a student with a few cents to hand,i read this book at a friends house.i think jaber is both informative and constructive in her approach to the subject.i knew little of this subject but have made it my business to find out more.please bring this out in paper back so we poor students can buy our own copy!

an excellent book on a complicated issue.

IN THIS HIGHLY READABLE BOOK,AUTHOR HALA JABER GOES BEHIND THE VEIL OF HEZBOLLAH TO TELL THE READER THAT NOT ALL WE READ IN THE WEST IS QUITE TRUE ABOUT THIS GROUP.HOSTAGES,SUICIDE BOMBERS ETC..ITS ALL IN HERE BUT SO ARE THE SCHOOLS,HOSPITALS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE THAT THE GROUP HAS BUILT UP OVER THE YEARS.SHE EXPLAINS CLEARLY AND OBJECTIVELY WHY ISRAEL,WHICH OCCUPIES 10% OF LEBANESE LAND,HAVE TAKEN MANY OF THEIR YOUNG SOLDIERS HOME IN BODY BAGS.I WOULD HOPE THAT THIS BOOK IS READ BY FUTURE PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS ASWELL AS THEIR INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENTS.VERY ENLIGHTENING!