Rating: 
Summary: A Breath Of Fresh Air
Review: Finally a book that doesn't succumb to the current mental construct that Israel Can Do No Wrong. Reading about the other side of the story, and with such informed writing, is refreshing. Whether you're zionist or not, it's helpful to have some idea of the thought process of the other side.In response to a previous reviewer's claim that this book presented nothing more than criticism of Israel's defending itself - EXACTLY. and the proper response to an opinion differing from yours is not blatant discrediting - rather it would be a thoughtful and logical explanation of why exactly it is wrong to criticize Israel. Back yourself up. It's a good read, and it didn't sway me one way or another. I do, however, feel more informed on the whole issue. Isn't that what a book's supposed to do?
Rating: 
Summary: A Grand Disappointment
Review: Hala Jaber's "Hezbollah: Born with Vengence" starts out ok. But by mid-way through the book it turns into an endless one-sided emotional rant against Israel. I am not Jewish, nor do I have much sympathy for Israel's invasion of Lebanon; however, Israel had its reasons and I don't think Jaber did a very good job of trying to put the conflict in S. Lebanon in perspective. Jaber offers endless highly graphic portrayals of Israeli brutality--and undoubtedly Israel is guilty of such abuses. Yet, she does not provide any opposing and balanced look of the brutality perpetrated by Hezbollah, nor does she equally scrutinize Syria's occupation of N. Lebanon. Is not Syria's occupation of this country just as vile (Israel is gone, while Syria is still in Lebanon with 35,000 troos), or is such venom only reserved for Israel? I did learn about Hezbollah's intricate and expansive social welfare net. Still, it is too bad that Jaber could not have at least tried to stray away from such emotionalism and provided something more of an objective view. I made it to page 189--thereafter it just became one bleeding heart example of alleged Israeli atrocities after another. To portray Hezbollah as the valiant freedom fighters and Israel as the vile and heartless occupier is far to simplistic--one might even suggest intellectually lazy. If you are a pro-Palestian, pro-Hezbollah fan--this book sings to the choir. However, if your trying to learn about and objectively place Hezbollah within a very complicated conflict,this book is not for you.
Rating:
Summary: A different perspective...
Review: I certainly agree with the others who have written reviews for this book in that it is very pro-Hezbollah / sympathetic to Hezbollah. The underlying theme of this book seems to be that Israel brought this upon themselves. Even though the book may be skewed toward the Hezbollah perspective, I still think it is an important book to read for anyone who is trying to learn more about the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict in order to be familiar with the different perspectives of the conflict. One quick comment on the writing style: I thought the book was well written and easy to read. It flowed pretty smoothly and I found it to be a page-turner (which is a pleasant surprise in comparison to some of the other books I have been assigned to read for class).
Rating:
Summary: A different perspective...
Review: I certainly agree with the others who have written reviews for this book in that it is very pro-Hezbollah / sympathetic to Hezbollah. The underlying theme of this book seems to be that Israel brought this upon themselves. Even though the book may be skewed toward the Hezbollah perspective, I still think it is an important book to read for anyone who is trying to learn more about the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict in order to be familiar with the different perspectives of the conflict. One quick comment on the writing style: I thought the book was well written and easy to read. It flowed pretty smoothly and I found it to be a page-turner (which is a pleasant surprise in comparison to some of the other books I have been assigned to read for class).
Rating: 
Summary: it a good book with lots of facts
Review: 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 there
this 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.
Rating: 
Summary: The moving inside story of Hezbullah
Review: I read Ms Jaber's book, and was so inspired by it I visited South Lebanon. Ms Jaber is obviously not an Islamist, but her unbiased and contextual approach presents a picture, which many of Hezbullah admirers would recognise. She shows the Quranic roots of the movement by quoting the Holy Scripture at each chapter head. Most importantly she describes the comprehensive nature of the Party's work, and not just it's military aspects. She allows the Hezbullahi and other players in the drama to speak for themselves, yet is not afraid to form an opinion about some of the controversial aspects of recent Lebanese history. For anyone who wants to know how a radical Islamic programme can work within a multi-cultural society this book is a must. [133 words]
Rating:
Summary: an excellent book on a complicated issue.
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: A journey into Hezbollah corridors...
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: This book is about the struggle between Hezbollah and Israel, it gives the reader a better view of Hizbollah and there organization, unlike what you read in a regular newspaper, it tells you that this group helped a lot of people by building Hospitals, Schools, and much more to help the society, also it will show you that Hezbollah never bombed any civilian unlike the Israeli who bombed a lot of civilian villages in Lebanon, it will give the reader an idea about Hezboolah in general, and about Shi beliefs, in order to understand it more, I think the reader should read a book about Karbala slaughter which happened long tome ago almost 1200 years, I think Jaber did a good job in general, but there is a lot of misinterputated points in the book that the, finally the cover page for those who don't speak Arabic, the white writing on the read tie is a big Islamic symbol to shia, who was killed in Karbala. His name is Abbas who then became a symbol for those who want there freedom as well as his brother Hussian did (AASWS).
Rating:
Summary: Hezbollah-Martyers or terrorists
Review: This book is garbage. It does nothing but bash Israel for defending itself aganist a Fundamentalist band of murderers. Hezbollah is not fighting some oppresve regime but are simply terrorists who are looking to spread the word of Khomeini. Hezzbollah is willing to spread his techings through any means,even if that means sucide bombings. She sheds no light into the groups inner workings and very little into the groups history. The book is simply a mass of anti israel rehtoric.
| 
