Some belated praise is due for Philip Hitti, author of History of the Arabs. The 2002 revised tenth edition reissue (last updated in 1970) brings to the world what may well be the best, and is almost certainly the longest, detailed survey history of the Arab world to date. The timeliness of this reissue couldn't be better.

Forget about contemporary politics, though. Like his shorter The Arabs: A Short History (which is also a fine work), this book covers a span from pre-Islam up to the rise of the Ottoman empire in slightly more than seven hundred small font richly detailed pages. Then follows another fifty pages covering the Turks and the twentieth century, much of which is too fast and sparse to be of great value. This actually is the only significant drawback in this work. What this means, though, is that for anyone looking for just a History, not a polemic on one side or the other, not an apology for Islam or an attack against it, this is the book to read. Although I'd recommend that the beginner start with something lighter, a seriously interested reader would be hard pressed to find a better source.

I consider this neutrality to be a good thing. There are plenty of books covering the politically extremely sensitive subject of Arab history. Hitti is impervious to virtually all of the politics because besides being an intellectually honest historian - taking a warts and all approach to history - he also wrote this book quite a few years ago, 1937 for the first edition. Thus the framework for History of the Arabs has no room for anti-Israel propaganda because there was no Israel at the time (though a couple sentences have been added to later editions, also neutral). And I should add that although the style of writing is a bit old fashioned, it is generally not dull. This book has aged well.

So, what sort of writing is included? What does a warts and all approach look like? Hitti was himself a Maronite Christian Arab from Lebanon, and clearly had great enthusiasm for the history of his people. This much is obvious. It manifests itself in countless ways, from his attention to detail (Hitti respects the intellect of his readers) to his occasional light hearted comments. He takes no sides (yes, I am harping on this point, but these days this is a hard trait to find), and sometimes produces some very picturesque lines. At one point, he comments that Arab philosophers were digesting and expanding on Greek philosophy when Charlemagne and his lords were dabbling in the art of writing their own names. Contrast this to his statement that if the Arab world today was forced to rely today on scientific texts of Arab origin, it would be further back than it was in the eleventh century. Though he writes very highly of Muhammad's accomplishments, he points out quite casually that his favorite wife was so young that she brought her toys along when she moved into his house. Comments like these could be dwelt upon by contemporary attackers or defenders of Islam (In the right context, this is not necessarily a bad thing), but to Hitti they simply add life and color to History. A history that shows staggering highs and frightful lows. A history that covers what was once the pre-eminent civilization of the hemisphere and has failed and fallen since then. A history that has at times shown intellectual rigor and superstitious brain sloth, that has been a model for tolerance and the source of insatiable bigotry. This is History, everyone, and I've seen few writers who handle it better than Philip Hitti.

This book offers a 'blueprint for leading businesses through the perils of the Digital Age'. The four main sections of the book cover 'Evaluating and Understanding the Internet'; 'Internet Strategy Formulation'; 'Technology Implementation'; and 'Internet Business Management' . Each section provides a very thought provoking coverage of the relevant issues and the book in total provides a very comprehesive coverage of the critical issues in Internet commerce written from a business strategy and management perspective rather than from a web design or technical perspective.

Chapter 6, in particular, is extremely useful providing a very practical step-by-step guide to the actions required to implement a successful internet marketing strategy. The main steps suggested are: conduct necessary education; review current distribution and supply chains to see how they are impacted by the Net; understand what customers and partners want from the Net; re-evaluate the nature of your products and services; give a new role to your human resource department; extend your current systems to the outside i.e. extranets; track new competitors and market shares in the digital marketspace; develop a Web centric marketing strategy; participate in the creation and development of virtual marketplaces and intermediaries; instill electronic marketing managemnt styles.

If you have read "Reengineering the Corporation" by Hammer and Champy, you will see parallels with this book. It seems that the author has adopted a similar style but focused on the Internet, so it is a very practical management handbook that presents a comprehensive framework which is not affected by the day to day Internet developments. Thinking of electronic markets (the author calls them "digital markets") as a primary goal for the Internet is a great way to keep a business focused on the main objective. The book shows many ways to participate in these markets, which Mougayar believes are the markets where future competition really counts. We used the book here for our own purposes, and it did have an impact on our thinking. I concur that I wouldn't want too many of my competition reading this book either.

Opening Digital Market: Battle Plans and Business Strategies for Internet Commerce is a must read book for every business professional interested in the world of Internet Commerce. It is very clear, concise, and presents its core arguments in logical and coherent fashion. While the entire book is organized along the lines of e-commerce formulation (technological/organizational challenges) to e-commerce implementation (examples of good business models), it is written such that the reader can easily skip chapters and go to their topic of interest without missing a beat. In the past, I have been thoroughly disappointed with the supply side (firm/technological) emphasis of emerging trends. This is one of the few books that makes a seamless transition between the supply side and demand side (market orientation)and thus manages to offer a holistic perspective of all facets--its challenges, its pitfalls, its multifaceted opportunites--of Internet Commerce.

This is the most beautiful book I have ever come across that depicts pre-1948 Palestine through photographs of the people and the, now destroyed, country.
It portrays the Palestinians as industrious, enlightened, and a richly creative people who had established a highly developed society that was destroyed by British colonialism and Zionist brutality.
It is remarkable how the pictures require little explanation. The author has provided a plethora of diverse photographs from several decades that show Palestine at its height of development and economic prosperity to its rapid decline caused at the hands of British greed and Zionist aggression.
This book is a must for anyone interested in looking at the rich history and developed society of pre-1948 Palestine. I highly suggest that anyone who wants to learn about a people who has been displaced for more than 50 yrs, should look at their history and look at how their lives were before colonialism and the forced rule of Israel.

This book should be of interest to anyone who is curious about pre-colonial societies in the Middle East and abroad. Let us not forget that colonized societies had a far richer history and socio-economic development then we can fathom today or are willing to acknowlege.

It presents the Palestinians as real people, not as cartoon cut-outs. This book provides insight for a largely ignorant and deceived public on the structure and history of a surprisingly Western society now largely destroyed. Without books like this, history would never tell us about these people. A real gem, and a great conversation-starter.

This is a great book by one of the world authorities on the modern history of Palestine. The photo collection is fascinating, and provides a rare glimpse into the world of pre-1948 Palestine.

Lebanese Christian Nationalism is an excellent resource for those seeking to learn more about Christian myths. Not only does the author present a very biased view of the Lebanese civil war, but he also presents the unfounded argument that Lebanon has always been Christian and is only for Christians.

This book is in-line with the author's political views, which are to regenerate an exclusively-Christian movement in Lebanon including the revival of the Syriac language. The value of this book is only seen in its demonstration and promotion of typical Christian nationalist thought.

Not only Phares book is the first comprehensive study of the Ethnic Claim of the Lebanese Christians in English, but it actually scares the Arabist elites worldwide. For "Lebanese Christian Nationalism" simply establishes facts that are hidden by Arabist Historians and Commentators. He shows that an ethnic group, the Aramaic Christians of Lebanon, have established a homeland of their own in Mount Lebanon for centuries. Therefore this enable them to claim autonomy, or a Federal system in Lebanon. Phares praises the Democratic solution to the conflict, and is inclusive of all other communities. However his study focuses on one group, therefore he doesn't examine the plight of others in his volume. Arabist scholars and reviewers resents the fact that a Maronite Lebanese intellectual demonstrates to the West what they try to hide for decades: The existence of many non-Arab and non-Islamic minorities in the Middle East. Phares being among the first authors to clearly shed light on this issue, one has to expect Arabist critiques to go ballistic. For if Phares -who is secular and not religious minded- demonstrate that claim in Lebanon, a domino effect will take place: Copts in Egypt, Assyrians of Iraq, Southern Sudanese, Kurds, Berbers will establish similar claims, setting a major blow to the Pan Arab dreams. Phares' conclusions were twisted by some Arabist reviewers. They put alien words in his mouth. They actually never read his previous and subsequent work. All shows that instead of religious dimension, he refers constantly to the sociological one. This is typical of "ideological" reviewers when they are confronted with a new phenomenon. For instance he never calls for a "Christian Movement" as portrayed in the imagination of Arabist commentators, but for a multi-ethnic secular state, under a Confederal regime.

Phares book has gained its place in the literature, and that is a fact. The caravan has passed..

Malek Adam Lebanese University

Lebanese Christian Nationalism is by far the best book on Lebanon, published in the West so far. Not only it shed light on unknown historical facts, but it also explains complex issues related to the identity of the Lebanese Christians. Walid Phares does an incredible job in summarizing and clarifying a very difficult subject, longtime disregarded by the academic and media worlds. Phares takes us to the heart of the issues, demonstrates the "existence" of a enthic group, the Lebanese Christians, and underline the fact that this group, like many others in the world, has a legitimate and historical claim. Phares book contradicts most books and essays on Lebanon and explain tothe reader why so many issues remained unclear despite the large literature on Lebanon. The book's only missing section is forecasting the future. I believe Phares reserved his opinion for another work, which I am awaiting for..hopefully.

With thousands of related terms, this is very limited. Every time I've picked up the book to look up a term, it wasn't available. This is a waste!

I found this book not that useful to me. I am no beginner. This book is for beginners who wants to know about jargons and generally general stuff related to it. I bought this book because of the author Walid Mougayar whom have impressed me. Helpful if you want to know something but not too deep. Useful for managers who wish to conduct conversations on technical stuff as ice-breakers. Even the initial section which describe different companies is too shallow. I get get better stuff elsewhere. Perhaps in-depth of a few companies would have been much more useful. Reading the book remind me of the old days when I spent my time in the libaries browsing through Britannica and researching on various subjects. As stated before what could be gained is just skin deep but could serve as a point for deeper reading. It could serve as s book on a serve for non-technical managers who may wish to do some initial reading before attending a technical meeting. I do not recommend this book for people who wants more in-depth knowledge. I recommend it to people who wants an overview.

The authors take a unique approach to help one understand the concepts of the internet and its confusing terminology. The introductory summary provides a clear perspective of how the internet and its related attributes have quickly developed into a powerful tool in today's marketplace. It then provides a conceptual look into the future of how this new technology will impact our daily lives. The business case examples (ie. Business Internet Vignettes) are a great reference point for all technical and non-technical backgrounds- even those with an existing understanding of how powerful the internet and e-commerce can be. These examples go beyond the big Fortune 500 success stories and document how mid-size business' apply this new technology. A well documented glossary of internet terms has also been outlined by the authors. This is a great feature for all readers who must grasp an understanding of this new technology and its related jargon.

This book is a documentary for all generations to come about the TRUTH about Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel.

The history remains no matter how hard enemies try to forge it, and this book is to register the names, sites & population of the holy lands!

A must read for anyone interested in Jewish-Palestinian relations. I think that the information presented was written in a very clear and factual fashion, free from "emotional propoganda" but it would surprise me if anyone could walk away from reading without experiencing either a sense of loss, profound sadness or even outright disbelief.

Regardless of your stance on this issue, the painstaking task of documenting, investigating, cataloging, interviewing, and presenting the tremendous changes within the Palestinian-Israeli borders can be well appreciated.

Despite some of the negative reviews that were written by a few ignorant so-called historians, this book is actually extremely accurate. Whomever you may be, whatever you believe, or whatever side you are on, what happened happend and the facts are there and Mr. Khalidi has documented them well. Israel was formed on land that does not belong to it and this book showed what they did to accomplish that-destroy Palestinian villages. The content of this book and the history behind this conflict is best described by a movie made by Israelis and shown at the San Francisco Jewish film festival calle AL-NAKBA.

Go to the movies, or read on of the following (in this order): Peter Meyer (Getting started in computer consulting) Rick Freedman (The computer consultant) Gerald M Weinberg (The secrets of consulting) Enough said.

I am afraid that I must agree with the other reviewers. This book had the potential to be a decent reference, but the information is choppy...the "will be covered in a later chapter" stuff will drive you crazy trying to track down all you need to accomplish simple tasks. There are better books out there.

This book is not the best on the subject, I was a little upset about this purchase. Through out the book he makes these comments "..we'll discuss this more in chapter X" or " ...like we said in chapter X" I count 143 lines of these and gave up, it became aggravating and I stopped reading the book.