This book is a wide-ranging and innovative study of Israeli-Lebanese relations from the birth of the Jewish state in 1948 to the Israel-Lebanon War of 2006. Israel's relationship with its Arab neighbours is a subject of perennial interest in the Middle East. The relationship between Israel and Lebanon has taken numerous forms since the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948 and the chapters in this timely and important volume provide a comprehensive, detailed and informative analysis of the evolving ties between the two countries up to the present day. The contributors are drawn from...

Lebanon is the prisoner of its geography and its history. It has been a prize for invaders since ancient times and is presently a small multi-denominational state still recovering from a bloody civil war in its search for political autonomy and stability. Lebanon examines the country's recent past since 2005 -- when a mass movement agitated against Syrian dominance in the wake of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the then President of the country -- and also details the roles of Hezbollah and other political groups.
Sectarian tensions have escalated, predominantly between the Sunni and...

Throughout the turbulent history of the Levant the 'Alawis - a secretive, resilient and ancient Muslim sect - have aroused suspicion and animosity, including accusations of religious heresy. More recently they have been tarred with the brush of political separatism and complicity in the excesses of the Assad regime, claims that have gained greater traction since the onset of the Syrian uprising and subsequent devastating civil war.
The contributors to this book provide a complex and nuanced reading of Syria's 'Alawi communities -from loyalist gangs (Shabiha) to outspoken critics of the...

Ex-Marines Sam Reynolds and Chad York are at a remote pharmaceutical plant in Colorado negotiating a contract for their security company, when a deadly viral epidemic sweeps the continent, becoming a global pandemic of apocalyptic proportions. Several months pass by, and Sam and Chad decide that the contagion has run its course. They have formed relationships with Jill Myers and Laura Willis respectively, and the four of them set out to see if any of their families have survived what has been a near extinction event for the human race. An odyssey begins, and along with Sam's mother, a widowed...

Detective Inspector Laura Scott is making a fresh start. Following the accidental death of her daughter, Kara, she has transferred from the Met up to Yorkshire. The slower pace of life and change of scene proves beneficial, up until three young women are brutally murdered. Laura has to face the fact that a serial killer is operating on her patch, and the case file has landed on her desk. With no forensic evidence or apparent motive, Laura soon - and unofficially - contacts an old friend who had also been her lover; Jim Elliott, an ex-FBI profiler now living in the UK and running a successful...

When Shelley Payne, a close friend of Laura Scott, is brutally murdered, Laura and her partner, ex-FBI profiler Jim Elliott, investigate on their own time. Everything points to the perpetrator being Shelley's husband, Barry, due to a pending divorce and the prospect of having to pay a large settlement being a strong enough motive for him to want his wife dead. Proving it was going to be difficult, though, due to the fact that he was out of the country when Shelley was slain. Laura and Jim soon determine that the killing was carried out by a professional hitman, although the police believe,...