Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is a person who stands as a singular phenomenon in the history of this country. He is a mystery to many. He was the driving force behind the reconstruction that transformed Lebanon over 10 years from a war-ravaged wasteland to a home of new promise.
Masses and elite alike celebrated him as a savior when he returned from Saudi Arabia in following the call to the helm of Lebanese politics in 1992. But the people also looked to him when things did not go as expected. Such as the three year old economic recession and public national debt of $ 33 billion, the migration exodus of the middle class, and the political stalemate between the three branches of government. Criticism of Mr. Hariri's leadership and many of his initiatives was and continues to be a frequent feature of the post-war period, in parliamentary debates, media opinions, coffee houses and street discussions.
"Hariri - A Phenomenon" takes a step back from the emotions and examines Objectively the role of Rafik Hariri from 1992 until 2003, putting it into context of his personal
genesis, the political and socioeconomic environment he encountered, and the regional situation. The book places a special focus on an often-neglected aspect of Mr. Hariri's astonishing career in business and politics: emigration to Saudi Arabia and his triumphal return as Prime Minister.
The path and experience of the emigrant is crucial to this country, and the contributions of emigrants to Lebanese development are as important as they are widely undervalued. How does the general pattern of emigration and return fit on the case of this, the most famed and perhaps also most blamed, emigrant? How do returning expatriate experiences of hope and disillusionment apply to Mr. Hariri and the Hariri years?
In broad strokes, this new book outlines the course of Mr. Hariri, his childhood and time spent in Saudi Arabia, before his rise to political power. It also examines the cornerstones of his policies; his gamble on peace, his relations with the country and other leaders; popular perceptions of Lebanon and his prime minister abroad and here. It addresses limits that could stand against noble ambitions and puts the big reconstruction and development projects one by one to the litmus test.
The book explores the era of reconstruction and work and role of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri through the eyes of both a Lebanese intellectual and a foreign observer living here, doing away with the spectacles of rumors, pre-conceived opinions and partisan views. Hariri a Phenomenon follows an objective analysis of the facts and will open your eyes to many new and surprising aspects of Lebanon's course, its emergence from civil war and its national reconstruction.

NOTES:
This book is available in the English and Arabic languages.This book has been an independent effort by both of the authors and has not been funded by any one else.