Warriors of God : inside Hezbollah's thirty-year struggle against Israel / Nicholas Blanford.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [491]-496) and index.

The sleeping giant -- The "Shia genie" -- The gate of the mujahideen -- The scent of orange blossom in the spring -- The "deluxe laboratory without settlers" -- "The Lebanese valley of the dead" -- The spider's web -- The fence around the homeland -- Spoonfuls of cement -- "Birth pangs" -- The "last war with Israel".

Hezbollah is the most powerful Islamist group operating in the Middle East today, and no other Western journalist has penetrated as deeply inside this secretive organization as Nicholas Blanford. Now Blanford has written the first comprehensive inside account of Hezbollah and its enduring struggle against Israel. Based on more than a decade and a half of reporting in Lebanon and conversations with Hezbollah's determined fighters, Blanford traces their evolution from a zealous group of raw fighters motivated by Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution into the most formidable non-state military organization in the world, whose charismatic leader vows to hasten Israel's destruction. He reveals their ideology, motivations, and training, as well as new information on military tactics, weapons, and sophisticated electronic warfare and communications systems, providing an essential understanding of a key player in a region rocked by change and uncertainty.--From publisher description.