Publisher's Synopsis
In the decade between 1965 to 1975, Beirut was transformed from the thriving, so-called 'Paris of the Middle East' into a hotbed of leftist political ferment, culminating in the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War. But how did the momentous events of this period affect the people living through and participating in them?Beirut Radical tells the story of Imad Nuwayhid (1944-1975), a student, leftist intellectual in the making, traveller, activist, worker, and ultimately a "martyr", killed fighting for the Lebanese Communist Party in 1975. Using Imad's writings and personal documents, communist party sources, and interviews with his comrades, family, and friends, the book reveals how the hopes and dreams of a would-be-revolutionary changed as he migrated to Europe to work, experienced the trauma of the Arab defeat in the 1967 Six Day War, and took up the Palestinian cause after the PLO's move to Lebanon. Connecting his personal experiences to the wider currents of history, Imad's story provides a unique window into this lost era of radical Arab youth politics and culture, and its legacy today. By following the story of a single person and the changing world that shaped him, Beirut Radical accessibly shows the complexity with which young men and women connected the struggles of the Arab world and Global South to the Global North, pursuing careers alongside their faith in and activism for a better world. It will be essential reading for students, scholars, and all those interested in the modern history of Lebanon, the Middle East and the Global Sixties.
