Tribes with Flags

The ABC News correspondent’s riveting chronicle of his journey through the Middle East—and being held hostage by pro-Iranian terrorists in Beirut.

A New York Times Notable Book—with an introduction by the author.

On June 18, 1987, Charles Glass was kidnapped by pro-Iranian terrorists in a Shiite Muslim suburb of Beirut and held for sixty-two days. His daring escape on August 18, 1987, made headlines worldwide. But Glass never forgot the reason he was in Lebanon or abandoned the idea of a book capturing the splendid vitality and diversity of life in the Middle East.

Tribes with Flags is the book Glass always meant it to be: A chronicle of his journey from the southern Turkish coast, around the bay of Alexandretta, and through Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Glass visited farms, slums, and refugee camps as well as royal friends in feudal palaces, capturing the entire spectrum of Levantine life. The journey ends with a gripping account of Glass’s kidnapping in Beirut—an intimate portrayal of life as a hostage—and his successful flight to freedom.

“A literary and spiritual ramble through the countries of the Levant . . . Glass’s account of two months’ captivity and his escape bring to an exciting conclusion this engrossing, informative, unusual travel book.” —Publishers Weekly