Disgusted with the biased and unidimensional perspective of Israel's 34-day bombardment and invasion of Lebanon in 2006 found in most Western media coverage, Hovsepian (political science and international studies, Chapman U.) has assembled this collection in order to provide the reader with a more nuanced understanding of that conflict, both as it was lived on the ground and under the bombs and in terms of analysis of its causes and likely consequences. The volumes 31 essays, which include contributions by international law scholar Richard Falk, US foreign policy critics Noam Chomsky and Phyllis Bennis, former Israeli Knesset member Azmi Bishara, Beirut journalist Rami Khouri, and Israeli political scientist Yoav Peled, provide analysis of the sectarian structure of the Lebanese state and the politics of the Shi'ite group Hizballah, the US role in the conflict and the politics of the region, the course of the war itself, the international legal ramifications of the war and its conduct, and the war's repercussions for Lebanon and Israel/Palestine, among other related topics. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)