Beirut Spy

Description

An insider's account of true espionage, intrigue and conspiracy in the post-war Middle East, which reads like a Bond-esque thriller. Spies, journalists, politicians, tycoons, would-be assassins and oil sheiks mingle in the luxurious St George Hotel bar, the cosmopolitan centre of Beirut. From the 1950's through to its destruction in 1975 due to civil war, the plots, deals, and stories that came out of this famous hotel and its beachside bar make fascinating reading, featuring famous names as Kim Philby, Miles Copeland, Wilbur Crane and James Russell Barracks. Many incidents which went on to shape Middle Eastern history are related here, the plan to restore the monarchy in Baghdad, an attempt to overthrow King Hussein and the assassination of a Syrian president. In Beirut Spy, Said Aburish examines the plots and counterplots, stretching over a quarter of a century.

Said Aburish was a Palestinian journalist and writer (1935-2012). Born in Bethany, he moved to Beirut in 1948 upon the creation of the state of Israel. He attended school in Jerusalem and afterwards a Quaker school in Pennsylvania before graduating at Colombia School of Journalism in New York. He carved out a career as a journalist before returning to Beirut in the 1950s as a reporter for Radio Free Europe and The Daily Mail. Over the years, Aburish wrote extensively about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as biographies on three of the most prominent Arabs of the time, Nasser, Arafat and Saddam Hussein.