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Cover of Pity the Nation
Book details

Pity the Nation

Lebanon at War

by Robert Fisk

Published 1991662 pagesISBN 978-0-1928-5235-9

"Written by one of Britain's most distinguished journalists, this remarkable book is an epic account of the Lebanon conflict by an author who has personally witnessed the carnage of Beirut for twenty-six years. It is a story of western betrayal and the loss of American power and prestige in the Middle East. This book tells, too, in frightening detail, the story of the Middle East's first suicide bombers and their first devastating strike at Americans. Through a combination of war reporting and political analysis. Robert Fisk describes Lebanon's ferocious civil war and subsequent Israeli invasions, the Lebanese militias whose appalling brutality spared no one; the US Marines who found themselves trapped in the horror of Lebanon where many of them were to meet a terrible fate; and the Israelis, who tried to install their own puppet rulers, and with their 1982 invasion provoked war crimes of their own. Fully updated to include the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and Ariel Sharon's electoral victory, this American edition has sixty pages of new material and a revised preface."--BOOK JACKET.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Full BookenDeX details

What the reading experience may hold

A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.

Themes to notice

Nonfiction

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

Catalog signals suggest warfare and conflict, violence, death, or criminal harm, grief and loss, suicide or self-harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Dark tone · Steady pace

Best when you want to settle into a longer reading experience.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers looking for a substantial, immersive commitment with room for a world or argument to unfold.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneDark
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
12345
PeakRelative emotional intensity
Pity the NationRobert Fisk
Powerful5/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA longer, immersive read662 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 1991
Primary categoryNonfictionExplore similar books below
ISBN-13
978-0-1928-5235-9
Language
English
Edition record
OL14957921M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

Best when you want to settle into a longer reading experience.

Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
  2. Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
  3. How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.