1 Norton, Augustus Richard. Hezbollah: A Short History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007.

2 Since its inception following the 1982 occupation of southern Lebanon by Israel, Hezbollah has been the center of considerable controversy. At various times and to various people, Hezbollah has played the role of a terrorist organization, a guerrilla group resisting occupation, a charity organization providing medical and social support for the disenfranchised, and a political party vying for support in a struggling democracy. Hezbollah's history is nuanced and a proper understanding of the organization precludes placing it in any one of these simple categories.

3 Augustus Norton's Hezbollah: A Short History offers its readers a useful and accessible accounting of how Hezbollah came to power and the role it has played, not only in terms of political violence, but also with respect to Lebanese politics and society. The book is written for popular consumption and contains an interesting mix of history and social commentary, both colored by the author's extensive personal experience in the region. This book is precisely what its title professes it to be: a short history. Readers seeking a comprehensive history of Hezbollah will be disappointed, but readers with little or no prior knowledge of the group will find this a practical and comprehensible introduction

4 Norton provides his readers with a history more of Hezbollah's influence and influences than its acts. The first two chapters are dedicated to the emergence of Hezbollah in the context of the Lebanese civil war, religious tensions within Lebanese society, and the political pressures put upon Lebanon by its neighbors. Following a discussion of Shia Islam, Norton discusses Hezbollah's role in terrorism and political violence, particularly with regard to the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon and the period of pseudo-ceasefire along Lebanon's southern border between Israel's withdrawal in 2000 and the 2006 war. Norton then turns his attention to Hezbollah's role in Lebanese politics; he gives a good treatment of Hezbollah's electoral strategy and the array of social services Hezbollah provides (predominantly) for the Shia community. The discussion then moves to the tensions surrounding the 2006 war with Israel, the conflict itself, and Hezbollah's role in post-war reconstruction and politics.

5 While there are many laudable aspects of Norton's book, the greatest among these — in my opinion — is the book's general approach. It is easy, when writing about a group like Hezbollah, to devote what may turn out to be excessive attention to the political violence perpetrated by the group (indeed, that is what Hezbollah is best known for) at the cost of attention to important non-violent aspects of Hezbollah's organization. Here, Norton's approach shines. While Norton certainly explores Hezbollah's violence, this discussion comprises approximately a third of the book. Norton is careful to place Hezbollah in its appropriate historical, religious, and political contexts. For example, Norton dedicates an entire chapter to the practice of Shia Islam (the Islamic denomination to which Hezbollah subscribes) and the tug-of-war religion and politics play in Lebanese society.

6 My objections to this history are few, but two of them bear mentioning. First, acknowledging that it is difficult — when writing for popular consumption — to draw heavily on primary sources and existing literature without making one's writing vapid, I often could not help but feel like too much of the factual material presented drew either on what is (presumably) common historical knowledge and thus not cited, or on Norton's personal experience. Often, I found myself thinking "How does he know that?" For example, Norton writes: Hezbollah's example of military strength against Israel also galvanized Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. As in the past, when successful resistance in southern Lebanon helped to inspire Palestinian militants to wage their own uprising against Israel, pro-Hezbollah sentiment exploded in the Palestinian territories on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (p. 149)

7 The evidence given following this quote consists of the sighting of pro-Hezbollah graffiti and an increase in viewership of the Hezbollah-run al-Manar television channel. Setting aside the fact that an increase in pro-Hezbollah sentiment does not necessarily imply a causal relationship between Hezbollah's successes and an increase in Palestinian militancy, and if we assume graffiti and al-Manar viewership are good predictors of pro-Hezbollah sentiment throughout the Palestinian territories, one is still left wondering how much graffiti was seen, and where, and no source is given for the increase in al-Manar viewership. So, while Norton's observation is probably correct, I often found myself having to trust his assessment of a given situation more than a healthy skeptic would be comfortable with.

8 My second point of criticism is less important than my first and it concerns the way Norton presents information. Throughout the text, readers are faced with the rather gratuitous (for a book addressing a broad audience) introduction of Arabic words which are rarely central to understanding the material and seldom, if ever, used again in the text. For example, knowing that bidar means "a field" (p. 64) or that bi-ta`awun ma`a al-muqawama means "in cooperation with the resistance" (p.142 and never used again) adds little to the reader's comprehension of Hezbollah's history, unnecessarily complicates a number of passages, and this style of presentation — I fear — could alienate some readers.

9 These few shortcomings aside, Norton provides a concise and informative introduction to Hezbollah’s place in the history of armed conflict, Lebanese politics, and Lebanese society. The text is quite accessible to readers who are unfamiliar with Hezbollah and the region, and can be recommended for readers interested those subjects.