#x1C;Omri Nir is a tenacious and thorough reader of Lebanon#x19;s politics. His portrait of the Shia leader Nabil Berri is full and judicious. Nir has no axe to grind; he has given that quintessential survivor in Lebanon#x19;s politics a discerning and accurate assessment.#x1D;--Fouad Ajami, Professor and Director of Middle East Studies, The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced and International Studies & Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution #x1C;A penetrating, nuanced appraisal of Lebanon#x19;s veteran Shi#x19;a parliamentary speaker. In a fine political biography, Omri Nir brings into focus the link-man between what is probably Lebanon#x19;s largest sectarian community and the country#x19;s non-Shi#x19;a majority. A scrupulously fair portrayal of Nabih Berri#x19;s personal story and political affairs--a timely, much needed corrective to the relentless Western media conflation of the Lebanese Shi#x19;a with Hezbollah.#x1D; --William Harris.