The Longest War: Israel in Lebanon

Israel's controversial invasion of Lebanon is the subject of this harrowing book, which unsparingly describes the impact of the war on the author and on his adopted country. Jacobo Timerman has been living in Israel with his family since 1979, and this book begins as one of his sons leaves for the front. As the weeks pass and the war grows in intensity, he visits the destroyed cities of Sidon and Tyre, witnessing the carnage inflicted by the Israeli forces, as well as the demonstrations being held inside Israel against the war. This journal is an attempt to understand and come to terms with the fact that Israel has become an aggressor; and with the serious implications that Israel's actions hold for its own people and Jews everywhere. The Longest War is an impassioned book. It digs deep into the psyche and identity of a people finding themselves at a watershed of historical importance. And it movingly reveals the ambivalences and anguish of an extraordinary man.