IMHO, a quite informative book.

from
https://www.amazon.com/Privilege-Die-Hezbollahs-Legions-Endless/dp/1439143617
rated as a 3.7 by Amazon

"HOW HAS HEZBOLLAH, WHICH HAS NOW WON TWO WARS WITH ISRAEL, managed to
become the most dynamic movement in the Islamic world, why do millions
share its beliefs, and what do they want? The Islamic revolutionary
movement has become the most powerful source of militancy in the Middle
East, forging a mass following and global appeal. A Privilege to Die
offers the first on-the-ground look at the men and women whose fervor
has made Lebanon’s Party of God the gold standard for radical movements
across the region and the world.

Through deep and vivid portraits of those who do Hezbollah’s grassroots
work—on the battlefields, in politics, in nightclubs, and with scout
troops—Thanassis Cambanis, a veteran Middle-East correspondent, puts a
human face on the movement that has ushered in a belligerent renaissance
and inspired fighters in Gaza, the West Bank, Egypt, Iraq, and beyond.
This riveting, remarkable narrative provides an urgent and important
exploration of militancy in the Middle East.

Reviews

“Depressingly excellent… Lays out the near-brilliant way in which
Hezbollah manages to be both the party of the downtrodden and the puppet
of two of the area’s most retrograde dictatorships. Cambanis shows how
the trick is pulled.”—Christopher Hitchens, Slate, author of Hitch-22
and God Is Not Great

“An indispensable guide to understanding the region’s most formidable
extra-state actor. Cambanis skillfully pinpoints the reasons for
Hezbollah’s political success. . . . In prose that is often eloquent yet
earthy, indicative of scholarly erudition as well as a storyteller’s
flair for capturing the complexities of human psychology, Cambanis
describes the seemingly contradictory impulses he discovers.”
—The Christian Science Monitor

Top reviews from the United States
Stuart M. Wilder
5.0 out of 5 stars A readable book diplomats and intelligence officers,
not to mention college professors, must read
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2010
Verified Purchase
I will just second, and not repeat , what the two reviews preceding mine
have said about this book. I want to add that Cambanis meets with the
people he reports of in their homes, in their cafes; shares a water pipe
with while he interviews them, asks those he meets and interviews harder
questions than we are used to in today's era of friendly, non-offensive
reporters, and most importantly, is not afraid to challenge conclusions
he had reached and published earlier upon learning new facts or
discovering he made a mistake. This book is worth one thousand written
by pundits, Washington based reporters, intellectuals and cubicle based
think tank wonks. Hezbollah at this moment is run by unabashedly racist
men who know they can ruin everything by overreaching, made up of
followers who are willing to risk their and their families' lives and
limbs in the belief that their reward awaits them in the next world, by
fellow travelers starved for leadership and a reason to participate in
the affairs of their country, and by international sponsors who think
nothing of threatening the death of millions of innocents. That our
government behaves the way it does in the Middle East with the knowledge
that this group that encourages its followers to believe in the coming
of and work to bring on an Islamic Apocalypse, leaving its friends in
Lebanon in the lurch, is just one of the truly astonishing revelations
and insights of this remarkable, and readable (and well-edited) book.

or

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/2011-01-01/privilege-die-inside-hezbollahs-legions-and-their-endless-war

Reviewed by L. Carl Brown
January/February 2011
Published on January 1, 2011
In the summer of 2006, Israel launched a devastating incursion into
Lebanon that badly mauled, but failed to knock out, Hezbollah. In the
last days of 2008 and early 2009, Israel moved with equal fury against
Hamas in Gaza, in a short war that Hezbollah opted to stay out of.
Cambanis' intimate account of this recent history, enhanced by stories
of a handful of Hezbollah's true believers and sympathizers, paints a
gripping portrait of this radical religio-political movement. In an
often discursive, largely first-person narrative, Cambanis presents an
impressive organization, bearing the awesome title "Party of God," that
is virtually a state within the state of Lebanon. Hezbollah provides
social services. Its leaders live modestly and level with their
followers, thereby earning the group tactical flexibility. Hezbollah
proudly acknowledges receiving support from Iran and Syria and would be
weaker without it, but the group is too deeply rooted in Lebanon to be
the tool of any outsider. Cambanis stresses equally Hezbollah's radical
militancy, which makes a more accommodating arrangement within Lebanon
or vis-à-vis Israel unlikely to emerge. Indeed, a depressing theme of A
Privilege to Die is the way that less organized, less fervent, and more
corrupt moderates have lost out to radicals since the 1970s.
Stay informed.
Get the latest book reviews delivered bi-weekly.
MORE BY L. CARL BROWN
More:
Middle East

or

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/thanassis-cambanis/a-privilege-to-die/

Hezbollah is a formidable presence that cannot be ignored, and
Cambanis’s book, a well-balanced blend of journalism, history...

If there’s anything to unite the Arab world, it’s opposition to Israel.
If there’s a group to do that unifying, writers former Boston Globe
Middle East bureau chief Cambanis, it’s the much-feared Hezbollah, the
Party of God.

Hezbollah, writes the author, makes for a complex, frightening enemy
that has “put back into popular currency a notion that had lain in
tatters since 1967: that Arab forces could do more than terrorize or
harass Israel—they could defeat and destroy it.

On Monday, August 14, 2023 at 7:45:26 PM UTC-4, a425couple wrote:
> IMHO, a quite informative book.
>
> from
> https://www.amazon.com/Privilege-Die-Hezbollahs-Legions-Endless/dp/1439143617
> rated as a 3.7 by Amazon
>
> "HOW HAS HEZBOLLAH, WHICH HAS NOW WON TWO WARS WITH ISRAEL, managed to
> become the most dynamic movement in the Islamic world, why do millions
> share its beliefs, and what do they want? The Islamic revolutionary
> movement has become the most powerful source of militancy in the Middle
> East, forging a mass following and global appeal. A Privilege to Die
> offers the first on-the-ground look at the men and women whose fervor
> has made Lebanon’s Party of God the gold standard for radical movements
> across the region and the world.
>
> Through deep and vivid portraits of those who do Hezbollah’s grassroots
> work—on the battlefields, in politics, in nightclubs, and with scout
> troops—Thanassis Cambanis, a veteran Middle-East correspondent, puts a
> human face on the movement that has ushered in a belligerent renaissance
> and inspired fighters in Gaza, the West Bank, Egypt, Iraq, and beyond.
> This riveting, remarkable narrative provides an urgent and important
> exploration of militancy in the Middle East.
>
> Reviews
>
> “Depressingly excellent… Lays out the near-brilliant way in which
> Hezbollah manages to be both the party of the downtrodden and the puppet
> of two of the area’s most retrograde dictatorships. Cambanis shows how
> the trick is pulled.”—Christopher Hitchens, Slate, author of Hitch-22
> and God Is Not Great
>
> “An indispensable guide to understanding the region’s most formidable
> extra-state actor. Cambanis skillfully pinpoints the reasons for
> Hezbollah’s political success. . . . In prose that is often eloquent yet
> earthy, indicative of scholarly erudition as well as a storyteller’s
> flair for capturing the complexities of human psychology, Cambanis
> describes the seemingly contradictory impulses he discovers.”
> —The Christian Science Monitor
>
> Top reviews from the United States
> Stuart M. Wilder
> 5.0 out of 5 stars A readable book diplomats and intelligence officers,
> not to mention college professors, must read
> Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2010
> Verified Purchase
> I will just second, and not repeat , what the two reviews preceding mine
> have said about this book. I want to add that Cambanis meets with the
> people he reports of in their homes, in their cafes; shares a water pipe
> with while he interviews them, asks those he meets and interviews harder
> questions than we are used to in today's era of friendly, non-offensive
> reporters, and most importantly, is not afraid to challenge conclusions
> he had reached and published earlier upon learning new facts or
> discovering he made a mistake. This book is worth one thousand written
> by pundits, Washington based reporters, intellectuals and cubicle based
> think tank wonks. Hezbollah at this moment is run by unabashedly racist
> men who know they can ruin everything by overreaching, made up of
> followers who are willing to risk their and their families' lives and
> limbs in the belief that their reward awaits them in the next world, by
> fellow travelers starved for leadership and a reason to participate in
> the affairs of their country, and by international sponsors who think
> nothing of threatening the death of millions of innocents. That our
> government behaves the way it does in the Middle East with the knowledge
> that this group that encourages its followers to believe in the coming
> of and work to bring on an Islamic Apocalypse, leaving its friends in
> Lebanon in the lurch, is just one of the truly astonishing revelations
> and insights of this remarkable, and readable (and well-edited) book.
>
> or
>
> https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/2011-01-01/privilege-die-inside-hezbollahs-legions-and-their-endless-war
>
> Reviewed by L. Carl Brown
> January/February 2011
> Published on January 1, 2011
> In the summer of 2006, Israel launched a devastating incursion into
> Lebanon that badly mauled, but failed to knock out, Hezbollah. In the
> last days of 2008 and early 2009, Israel moved with equal fury against
> Hamas in Gaza, in a short war that Hezbollah opted to stay out of.
> Cambanis' intimate account of this recent history, enhanced by stories
> of a handful of Hezbollah's true believers and sympathizers, paints a
> gripping portrait of this radical religio-political movement. In an
> often discursive, largely first-person narrative, Cambanis presents an
> impressive organization, bearing the awesome title "Party of God," that
> is virtually a state within the state of Lebanon. Hezbollah provides
> social services. Its leaders live modestly and level with their
> followers, thereby earning the group tactical flexibility. Hezbollah
> proudly acknowledges receiving support from Iran and Syria and would be
> weaker without it, but the group is too deeply rooted in Lebanon to be
> the tool of any outsider. Cambanis stresses equally Hezbollah's radical
> militancy, which makes a more accommodating arrangement within Lebanon
> or vis-à-vis Israel unlikely to emerge. Indeed, a depressing theme of A
> Privilege to Die is the way that less organized, less fervent, and more
> corrupt moderates have lost out to radicals since the 1970s.
> Stay informed.
> Get the latest book reviews delivered bi-weekly.
> MORE BY L. CARL BROWN
> More:
> Middle East
>
> or
>
> https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/thanassis-cambanis/a-privilege-to-die/
>
> Hezbollah is a formidable presence that cannot be ignored, and
> Cambanis’s book, a well-balanced blend of journalism, history...
>
> If there’s anything to unite the Arab world, it’s opposition to Israel.
> If there’s a group to do that unifying, writers former Boston Globe
> Middle East bureau chief Cambanis, it’s the much-feared Hezbollah, the
> Party of God.
>
> Hezbollah, writes the author, makes for a complex, frightening enemy
> that has “put back into popular currency a notion that had lain in
> tatters since 1967: that Arab forces could do more than terrorize or
> harass Israel—they could defeat and destroy it.

I see two statements there that are difficult to agree with:

1. "HOW HAS HEZBOLLAH, WHICH HAS NOW WON TWO WARS WITH ISRAEL" So they won two wars with Israel? That would be news to Israel and pretty much the rest of the world.

2. "If there’s anything to unite the Arab world, it’s opposition to Israel" That may have been true prior to Egypt and Jordan making peace with Israel. It's definitely not true after the Abraham Accords and various other Arab countries recognizing Israel.

On 8/15/23 04:24, Dean Markley wrote:
> On Monday, August 14, 2023 at 7:45:26 PM UTC-4, a425couple wrote:
>> IMHO, a quite informative book.
>>
>> from
>>
https://www.amazon.com/Privilege-Die-Hezbollahs-Legions-Endless/dp/1439143617
>> rated as a 3.7 by Amazon
>>
>> "HOW HAS HEZBOLLAH, WHICH HAS NOW WON TWO WARS WITH ISRAEL, managed to
>> become the most dynamic movement in the Islamic world, why do millions
>> share its beliefs, and what do they want? The Islamic revolutionary
>> movement has become the most powerful source of militancy in the Middle
>> East, forging a mass following and global appeal. A Privilege to Die
>> offers the first on-the-ground look at the men and women whose fervor
>> has made Lebanon’s Party of God the gold standard for radical movements
>> across the region and the world.
>>
--------------------------
>>
>> Hezbollah, writes the author, makes for a complex, frightening enemy
>> that has “put back into popular currency a notion that had lain in
>> tatters since 1967: that Arab forces could do more than terrorize or
>> harass Israel—they could defeat and destroy it.
>
> I see two statements there that are difficult to agree with:
>
> 1. "HOW HAS HEZBOLLAH, WHICH HAS NOW WON TWO WARS WITH ISRAEL" So
they won two wars with Israel? That would be news to Israel and pretty
much the rest of the world.
>
> 2. "If there’s anything to unite the Arab world, it’s opposition to
Israel" That may have been true prior to Egypt and Jordan making peace
with Israel. It's definitely not true after the Abraham Accords and
various other Arab countries recognizing Israel.
I agree. Those are difficult to agree with.
But they do have valid considerations.

Israel had established a security zone in south Lebanon.
In August 2006 there was fighting.
Generally we have seen Israel armed forces attack and opponents
withdraw. Here Hezbollah fought, continued fighting, and
gained strength and support.

a source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Lebanon_War

"Hezbollah claimed the war was a "Divine Victory",[64] while
Israel considered the war a failure and a missed opportunity."
Israel Defense Forces:
Killed: 121 killed
Wounded: 1,244 [17]
20[18] tanks damaged beyond repair (from ATGMs and IEDs)[19][20]
1 helicopter shot down, 3 lost in accidents[21][22][23][24]
1 corvette damaged[25][26] Israeli civilians:
Killed: 44 [27] [28]
Wounded: 1,384 [29]

Yes, in 1978, the Camp David Accords produced a peace.
The Egyptian military would not be a threat to Israel.
And then Jordan joined.
So the big organized militaries would not attack Israel.
And trade has been steadily increasing.
I had great optimism and encouragement from the Abraham
Accords.
But, even if no large bordering military will attack Israel,
is a true and lasting peace at hand?
How can a true and lasting peace endure, when the vast majority
of citizens hate what is going on?

I appreciated seeing people in the tourist industry in Egypt in
2022 wearing Camp David tee shirts.
So, Egypt is the biggest nearby country.
We appreciated Saddat. We also appreciated Mubarak.
But face reality, They were military dictators and certainly
Mubarak was cruel and greedy. He was overthrown.
Egypt had an election. They voted in power a leader
of the Muslim Brotherhood (the #2 vote earner was even MORE
hard core 'anti-Jew'). Disaster was starting to descend
and the military again took over. The Egyptian Army, Air Force,
and Navy KNOW they do not want to go to war with Israel.

Yes, we can have hope and optimism about El Sisi.
But certainly he is a military dictator.
IS he greedy?????

But sadly, many in his country are against him, and Israel.
When it was just I and my wife, and our tourist guide and
driver, we could go pretty freely.
When we had grown to a full tourist bus, we had to have
a plain clothes police Capt. and an officer up front.
And leading our bus was a police car with 2 / 3 / 4 officers.
and following was a king cab pick up with 4 officers and
a machine gun sticking out the tail gate window.
And the roads had regular police / military armed check points.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_David_Accords

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Accords

I, like Winston Churchill, and Harry Truman consider myself
a Friend of Zion. But there is currently no easy peace
in that area of the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Friends_of_Zion_Museum