The Origins of the Lebanese National Idea: 1840?1920 Hardcover - 2013

"No author has brought to light the central themes of the origins and the multiple points of departure as well as the transitions and transformations of the idea of Lebanon in one study. It is one of the most significant monographs on Lebanon in a decade, and the best study of the formation of nationalism in the Levant since James Gelvin's Divided Loyalties." --Jens Hanssen, author of Fin de Sicle Beirut: The Making of an Ottoman Provincial Capital

"Carol Hakim's work is a deeply textured, thoroughly researched history that contests the view that 'Lebanism' was the singular and inevitable expression of Lebanese national identity. The Origins of the Lebanese National Idea will interest not only scholars and students of the Middle East, but is sure to provoke much-needed soul searching and controversy among Lebanese citizens and migrs who wish to understand their history and the roots of the contemporary Lebanese predicament." --James L. Gelvin, author of The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know

"Engaging and original, Hakim provides the most persuasive explanation to date of the genesis of a Christian state in Lebanon -- and the great power patronage needed to privilege that vision over rival national ideas. A major contribution both to the study of nationalism and to the emergence of the modern Middle East."--Eugene Rogan, University of Oxford and author of The Arabs: a history

"A subtle and original study of the way in which the idea of an independent Lebanon began to take hold in the late 19th century. A model of careful research which pays proper attention to the texts involved and the context in which they were written. A pleasure to read."--Roger Owen, author of The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for Life