Book: The Heart of Lebanon

Description

Notre Dame University has launched a new series, the Murex Series, under the headline Lebanon by Lebanese authors.

It is basically made up of selected works by great Lebanese authors ranging from literary to political to social and historical writings about Lebanon. The books are translated and published in an elegant cover that bears the slogan of the Murex connotatively and denotatively.

The aim of this series is to bring forth the civilizational aspect of Lebanon in its cultural, historical and social dimensions and to present it to the Western reader as a rich subject matter that enables him to understand the Lebanese presence on the international map.

This project was introduced in 2003 and is ongoing with the publication of an average of one or two books per year.

The Heart of Lebanon is a book of unique journeys, a diversity of poetry, history, and personal narrative presented by the author who traveled and described the characteristics of his native country. The Heart of Lebanon is a first-hand account in which Ameen Rihani wanted the reader to share with him the joys of experiencing authentic scenes of Lebanese life.

This record of different incidents is like a rainbow displaying the different colors of pleasure and pain, hope and despair, beauty and homeliness. Rihani registered history, geography, psychology, sociology, fashion, faith, travel and traditions which, taken together in an amazingly woven tapestry, led to further knowledge and a better understanding of the Lebanese character.

This valuable and genuine information was made available for all readers to get an accurate picture of Lebanon of the first half of the twentieth century. No book has revealed the conduct, secrets, and charms of the Lebanese life in its social, cultural, and literary aspects as thoroughly and beautifully as The Heart of Lebanon.

Comments…:

…Ameen Rihani in his Lebanese journeys is the inspired poet, the scrutinizing historian and the sage who draws out the lesson even from the most trifling issues and events. He is the alert traveler, the humorous narrator, the lenient critic and the surgeon whose scalpel is sharp and who shears do not maul or bend but cut clean.

Mikhail Naimy

What Rihani perceived in men, nature and life was beyond the perception of ordinary people… The author registered history, geography, psychology, and sociology which, taken together in an amazingly woven tapestry, let to better understanding of the Lebanese character… No one has revealed the conduct, secrets, and charms of the Lebanese life as beautifully as Ameen Rihani.

Henry Melki

Author: Ameen F. Rihani
Translated by: Dr. Henry Melki
Revised by: Dr. Paul Jahshan
Edition: 2005
Language: English
Number of pages: 498