Beirut 1958

Bruce Riedel combines real-world policy experience and a profound understanding of the Middle East to weave a fascinating, complex tapestry of Cold War-era coups and conspiracies, culminating in President Eisenhower's unprecedented decision to deploy U.S. Marines to Beirut in 1958. With the action shifting swiftly among Arab capitals and Washington, this non ction thriller provides a cautionary note for today: how seeing the world through a zero-sum prism (Washington-Moscow then, perhaps Washington-Tehran today) can lead to distorted analysis and high strategic costs. --Jeffrey Feltman, former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon and former UN under-secretary-general for political affairs Bruce Riedel's book is a gripping and colorful account of the first U.S. combat operation in the Middle East. It's packed with narrative detail, including events Riedel witnessed himself as the young son of a United Nations worker in Lebanon.This brief but potent work from a seasoned expert--who has since witnessed a lifetime of events in the Middle East--offers wisdom from the Marines' fateful 1958 landing in Lebanon that is still relevant in a region that continues to confound U.S. policymakers. --Jane Harman, director, president, and CEO, Wilson Center; former member of Congress In 1958, 'America opened the Pandora's box of war in the Middle East, ' writes Bruce Riedel in this brilliant and original work. The events of that year--a history he recounts, informed by his own experiences as a child growing up in the region--have been largely forgotten. they should not be, as the analysis Riedel provides about past and present makes clear. --Steve Coll, dean, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, and author of Ghost Wars and Directorate S