This work is a combination of an account of a most captivating Lebanese personality with an analysis of the historical and religious contours of Lebanon. His life is part of the national epic with elements of Christian faith and Maronite sophistication, inter-confessional modes of partnership, and violence tearing apart the fabric of social and economic life. Integral to the narrative and interpretation is the complex politics of Lebanon intermixed with the war that errupted in 1975.
Etienne Sakr embodies the destiny of Lebanon and its defiant struggle for national existence in the Middle East. He was the first to understand the threats to Lebanon and the decay in its elite circles, and he may be the last exile to return home. Personal testimonies from Lebanese residents and conversations with others outside of Lebanon who knew Abu-Arz, in addition to interviews with Israelis aquainted with him, provide the authenticity to the portrait of this remarkable man.