Warriors of God
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Average rating3.7
Hezbollah is the most powerful Islamist group operating in the Middle East today, and no other Western journalist has penetrated as deeply inside this secretive organization as Nicholas Blanford. Now Blanford has written the first comprehensive inside account of Hezbollah and its enduring struggle against Israel. Based on more than a decade and a half of reporting in Lebanon and conversations with Hezbollah's determined fighters, Blanford traces their evolution from a zealous group of raw fighters motivated by Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution into the most formidable non-state military organization in the world, whose charismatic leader vows to hasten Israel's destruction. He reveals their ideology, motivations, and training, as well as new information on military tactics, weapons, and sophisticated electronic warfare and communications systems, providing an essential understanding of a key player in a region rocked by change and uncertainty.--From publisher description.
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This book was dense enough to give a very compelling overview of the history of Hezbollah. I know a lot more about Hezbollah, south Lebanon and the Lebanon-Israel history (from the late 70s-2011) than I did before. That said there was far too much discussion of military hardware for my tastes which made this read more like a typical “Military History” book my grandfather would read. Very informative but not my cup of tea.
The author lived among the Lebanese people for one-third of his life as a journalist for the English news publication in Lebanon. While there, his insider allowances and relationships with Hezbollah's foundational members, prove insurmountable hermeneutic research into this book's subject matter. He mixes first-hand accounts with dogged research and personal interviews for his information. While this provides incredible insight from one perspective, it sits a bit lacking in Israeli perspective and plight.
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Though I do not possess a formidable insight into the advent of Hezbollah and their struggles with Israel, I must call attention to the author's tendency to cast Israel as the villain. Not that they don't deserve their share of the blame, given the veracity of this history, and the fact that war comes with a cost. Even so, I felt limited blame was placed on the Shia resistance and their justifications for violence which remain controversial today. This account is brilliant but quite one-sided.
I went into this book not anticipating that but was left with some questions and an opportunity to investigate the opposite viewpoint. This is not a knock on the book, as it was quite good, but merely a “heads-up” to those going in. You'll likely go looking for book two as I have.
