Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: One aspect of the book that makes it great is that the analysis offered inside is thorough, timeless, and correct. The logic employed by Friedman in this book is still applicable in today's Middle Eastern politics. He also offers fairly thorough historical coverage of the Lebanese civil wars and of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It also helps to give the reader a good idea of how the Middle East differs from the west, culturally, ideologically, and in terms of how things operate in the region.
This book is also great if you want to get a feel for how life was in the midst of a civil war or unrest, and of the various ways people coped with this life. It is great for outsiders and insiders alike. For the westerner, it describes how vastly different life is in the Middle East and how it is like to be a foreigner in the region. For someone from the area, but who was not able to witness the events, it gives a good feel of how life was at the time.
Overall, "From Beirut to Jerusalem" is a good read and Friedman is a very entertaining writer. A reader may wish to complement this book with the editorials he writes for the New York Times to stay up to date on the region.
Rating:
Summary: I'm glad I read it.
Review: This book was a gift from my father in 1990. It has sat on my shelf for 11 years and after Sept 11th, I felt I needed to a deeper understanding of the middle east. Written in the mid to late eighties it is more than a commentary on his witness to the Isreali occupation of Lebenon. This book is a prophecy to the events unfolding in the middle east and how they are impacting the rest of the globe. Great book which will have tremendous historical importance in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Great Starting Point
Review: The main thing that I can say is that I could not put this book down. A fascinating read - a great learning tool. My only question is this, "When will Thomas Friedman write a follow-up from 2001's perspective?"
Rating:
Summary: Great book to provide understanding of the Middle East
Review: Extremely well written and sectioned book that explains the history leading up to the 1995 state of affairs in the Middle East. The book is sectioned into three parts; Beirut, Jerusalem and Washington. The Beirut and Jerusalem sections artfully explain the conflict and its intersection with politics, history, culture, philosophy and religion. It provides a great foundation to understand the headlines we see in the paper everyday. It is told from the author's point of view and does inject many of his views on the Middle East but carefully separates the facts from his conclusions. What puts this book over the top is the talent of the author. Friedman not only provides in depth information about the facts, but also weaves the facts into an engaging and well written piece of non-fiction. The result is that the reader is provided with a plethora of information without feeling as if you are working to read this book. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Very objective- for the most part...
Review: Up until the last few chapters (and the intro), you almost think that Friedman is writing this book from a totally unbiased viewpoint, with no ties to the Middle East. I really enjoyed understanding a little more about the Israeli/ American Israeli situation and peoples. With the Middle East being such a intricate web of politics, you'd have to read quite a few books to START understanding what is happening. From Beirut to Jerusalem is a definite must.
Rating:
Summary: A Fair, Firsthand Account from the Middle East
Review: I had previously read Friedman's "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" and was basically disappointed with that book. "From Beirut to Jerusalem", his first and more widely acclaimed, is much better. I am on the opposite end of the spectrum as Friedman, politically, so I was not expecting to agree with him on every view and suggestion for solution that he describes in this book, but his writing was entertaining, his stories amazing, and his opinions very fair to both sides. The book begins with Friedman's description of life in the middle of the Lebanese civil war. Friedman lived in the heart of Beirut when it was the worst place anyone could be at the time. His firsthand stories of bombings, murders, and simple terrorism, range from unimaginably scary to darkly humorous. Eventually Friedman and his wife move from Beirut to Jerusalem, where the second half of the book begins. This second part is much more applicable to today's news and debates since it is from an area in the middle of daily battles, whereas Lebanon's civil war has died down. Friedman, although Jewish, has many misgivings about Israeli actions in their conflicts of the past several decades. But unlike most of his workmates and friends at the New York Times, Friedman is also not afraid to tell the whole truth when detailing Arab atrocities. Friedman's account of Hafez al-Asad's massacre of his own people in the town of Hama, Syria, is one that should be read by every Westerner -- especially those on the left who think the Jews, aided by America, simply "stole" a small plot of Arab land from an otherwise friendly group of people. This book won many awards and is very unique in that it is a wide-ranging report from the world's greatest newspaper's leading foreign affairs writer. Many may dislike Friedman for his controversial views, (i.e. saying the famous Elian/machine gun picture brought joy to his heart), but in "From Beirut to Jerusalem", he is very honest and comes as close to playing the middle ground as is possible in a dispute that seems to have no middle, and will likely never end.
Rating:
Summary: For the student of Middle Eastern affairs: a must read
Review: The term "must read" gets bandied about too easily, but for the student of the Middle East or of international relations in general, this book probably qualifies. I began reading "From Beirut to Jerusalem" as a high school senior, just after returning from overseas as an exchange student during the Persian Gulf crisis. Seeing that I was eager to broaden my understanding of Middle Eastern affairs, a friend recommended this book to me. Thanks to the pains Friedman took in writing the introduction, there is no need to be intimidated by the subject matter. With utmost patience, clarity, and simplicity, he lays out the history of Zionism, the formation of the Jewish state, the Arab-Israeli wars, the roots of the Lebanese civil war, and even the differences between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims, Marionite Christians, and the Druse. If a student reads no other part of the book, he or she ought to at least read and re-read the introduction to gain some historical perspective on this ongoing conflict, and to be able to give context to current events in the region. Friedman reports from credentialed experience, having served as the New York Times Bureau chief in both Beirut and Jerusalem during some of the choppiest years of the 1980's. His anecdotes and travel notes are fascinating, and his dry wit and contemplative perspective are never far from his words. His writing style is lucid, thoughtful, and easy to read. While being informative and factual, this book never ceases being interesting. Even as a high school student prone to distraction, this book had me hooked. Years later I still refer back to it and am thankful to have read it.
Rating:
Summary: enlightning
Review: A must have for those who want to know about the middle east from historical events to mindsets of all the groups who have been directly affected of such events. An enlightning book about another world lives.
Rating:
Summary: Informative Great Read
Review: An interesting book that provides a lot of information about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the relevance of Lebanon. Many books about this topic seem to be dry, but not this one. This is a fun and quick-read. If you want general information on the history, politics, individuals, and organizations involved in this dilemma this is an excellent book. The recent Intifada, assassination of Rabin, and the recent West Bank settlement issue have occurred after the writing of this book. Yet to understand the current problem it's a great book that will never be outdated. The roots of the cause remain the same. This will be helpful for those who have become interested in this region after September 11. The focus is on Israel and Palestine, and not the entire Middle East. An informative and great read.
Rating:
Summary: Must be understood in its context
Review: While I consider this book well worth reading, a word must be said about the context in which it was written. During the early 90's and late 80's a consensus was growing that the only way to end the Israeli Palestinian conflict was for Israel to recognize Yasser Arafat as the dejure government of the Palestinians. Moving down such a path meant that Arafat would have to under go considerable rehabilitation. One of the subtexts of Friedman's book is that very effort. The result is that Friedman intentionally glosses over the murder, mayhem and destruction Arafat spread through Lebanon. Little attention is paid to the civilians they murdered, the politicians they extorted, or the destabilizing influence that the PLO's "State-within-a-state" created. Occasionally Friedman is unfair in his assesment of Israel's actions. In particular failing to discuss the PLO's cross boarder raids into Northern Israel that left scores of civilian causalities and how it motivated Israeli public opinion is left insufficiently discussed. Probably that is due to Friedaman's desire to indict Israel's Likud government which he saw as hostile to his belief in the need to create a PLO-Israel dialogue. What makes the book interesting is in the story of how a state sandwiched between two regional powers was unable to survive. Interestingly, that is partially because Beirut tried to play both sides. That puts it in contrast to Jordan, a similarly situated state that, after the '67 War, through its lot entirely with Israel and has prospered under its protection. A little should be added about Friedman's idea of a direct PLO-Israel dialogue. Within a few years of this book Israel had in fact followed the course he recommended, recognizing the PLO and the rights of the Palestinians to have a state of there own. Friedman always thought that painful compromise by Israel would engender a Palestinian willingness to make similar compromises, like letting Israel annex the 4% of the West Bank which were majority Israeli, share Jerusalem, and accept demilitarization as well as a shared Jerusalem as long as the deal came with buckets of foreign aid. 10 years after this book was written, Israel's Prime Minister Barak offered exactly that deal as Friedman envisioned it and he like the rest of the world was shocked when Arafat rejected it, deciding instead on a course of violence. Despite the fact that this book is quite dated, it is still a good read. Those interested in the topic might also want to look at the work of Bernard Lewis, Chaim Herzog's "The Arab Israeli Wars" and Itimar Rabinovitch's work on the Lebanese conflict.
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