Publisher’s Summary
A PRIVILEGE TO DIE: Inside Hezbollah’s Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel.
In the tradition of Thomas Friedman’s From Beirut to Jerusalem, journalist Thanassis Cambanis explains why Hezbollah has emerged as the premier threat to both Israel and the West.
How has Hezbollah, which has now won two wars with Israel, managed to become the most powerful movement in the Islamic world, why has it gained millions of followers, and what do they want? Part standing army, part political party, and part theological movement, Hezbollah has created a revolution in the Middle East and is uncompromising in its intentions to remake the map of the Middle East and destroy Israel. Veteran Middle East correspondent Thanassis Cambanis offers the first detailed look at the surprising cross section of people who are willing to die for this movement: not just unemployed young men, but middle-class engineers, merchants, even nurses. While Hamas and al Qaeda are certainly dangerous to Israel and the West, it is Hezbollah’s millions of foot soldiers—who span economic class and religious sect—sworn to the group’s apocalyptic beliefs that have made it the premier force in the Middle East. Through vivid portraits of the men and women who do Hezbollah’s grassroots work—on the battlefields, in politics, in nightclubs, and with scout troops—Cambanis introduces us to the “soccer moms” of Hezbollah, the rank-and-file devotees steeped in a fiery new brand of Islam and puts a human face on the movement that has ushered in a militant renaissance and inspired fighters in Gaza, the West Bank, Egypt, Iraq, and beyond. A Privilege to Die is an urgent and important exploration of militancy in the Middle East.
EARLY REVIEWS
“Brilliant and revealing. It positively frightened me. Cambanis tells an important story with emotional power.”
–Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations
“A Privilege To Die is a revelation. Thanassis Cambanis, one of the most talented foreign correspondents of his generation, has traveled far into the heart of Hezbollah and what he has found there needs to be read about and studied by general readers and policy-makers alike. His reporting is not only fearless but sophisticated and penetrating, providing us with a vibrant image and unprecedented understanding of this powerful and secretive Islamist force. A Privilege To Die will become required reading for anyone who hopes to understand Lebanon and the modern Middle East.”
— Matthew McAllester, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bittersweet: Lessons from my Mother’s Kitchenand Blinded by the Sunlight: Surviving Abu Ghraib and Saddam’s Iraq.
“A gripping, street-level view of Hezbollah. Cambanis brings Hezbollah out of the shadows to show how it has become the world’s most sophisticated resistance group.”
— Richard Engel, Chief Foreign Correspondent, NBC News, author of War Journal and A Fist in the Hornet’s Nest.
“No global flashpoint today is more important than the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, and no book I know does a better job than A Privilege to Die in getting inside the thought-world of Hezbollah’s followers. From the front-lines of southern Lebanon, Cambanis brings us the human voices of fighters whom he gets to know even before they become martyrs for the cause. Their stories show the importance of faith and belief in making sense of violence. Nuanced, textured, and brutally honest, the book should be required reading for anyone who cares about war and peace in the Middle East.”
— Noah Feldman, Harvard Law School, author of Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR’s Great Supreme Court Justices and The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State
“Illuminating and terrifying in equal measure. Thanassis Cambanis journeyed to the heartland of the most important, least understood armed actor in the Middle East. The souls he met along the way are rendered with compassion but not spared the same unflinching lens that Cambanis turns on his own biases. This will be a controversial book, and an important one.”
— Quil Lawrence, National Public Radio Kabul Bureau Chief, author of Invisible Nation: How the Kurds’ Quest for Statehood Is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East
“A refreshing and insightful journey into a one of the most complex dynamics in the modern Middle East. Thanassis Cambanis combines extraordinary reportage with sharp analysis and a clear voice to explore the many sides of Hezbollah, from militant group to political party and charity organization. A series of highly evocative portraits of the people who make up the core supporters of Hezbollah makes A Privilege to Die a must read for anyone who seeks a better understanding of the region and its people.”
— Farnaz Fassihi, The Wall Street Journal, Author of Waiting for an Ordinary Day
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
A Privilege to Die
September 2010
Free Press
Political Science
6 x 9, 304 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4391-4360-5
$27.00 / $34.99 in Canada
