Between 250,000 and 300,000 ethnic Lebanese live in West Africa today. As is widely known, they played a significant role in the economic history of the region. The triangular commercial networks of Lebanese migrants between Lebanon, West Africa, and France go back to the nineteenth century and continue to be important today. Andrew Arsan's study, however, emphasizes the Lebanese, not as a commercial minority, but in terms of their social networks and political aspirations and contributions in the countries to which they emigrated. Despite the increasing interest in diaspora studies, Lebanese economic, political, and social networks are still poorly researched by comparison with African, Jewish, Chinese, and Indian diasporas. To my knowledge, this is the first comprehensive published history of the Lebanese migrant communities of French West Africa.

The book approaches two central streams of Lebanese migration chronologically. First came the Matni men and women (the latter always mentioned but never really visible in the text) who reached Conakry in present-day Guinea before 1914. Then arrived the better-known Amili migrants who were (and are) clearly visible in port towns and capital cities. These Lebanese migrants, settlers, strangers, exiles, people in diaspora and so on, are not just people who lost their homes, but also people trying to find another home in a strange and sometimes hostile environment. For some people, ‘home’ became not just one place, but many: moving, sojourning, settling, or un-settling could become a way of life. Such mobility was sometimes forced upon them by economic circumstances, political changes, or wars. Some migrants try to reproduce ‘home’ as much as they can in their new settlement by reproducing the interiors in their houses in Lebanon, and by retaining clothing and food habits. In such instances a ‘Little Beirut’ may emerge. Others wish to live in a cosmopolitan setting and adopt a more Western ‘worldly’ lifestyle. In either case, they rarely intermingle with or marry locals or other migrants, and therefore they remain visible ‘outsiders’.

Arsan takes great pains to explain that it is difficult to speak of a singular diasporic experience. He convincingly concludes that ‘it seems true to say that Lebanese migrants to postcolonial West Africa are not quite African, but no longer Lebanese’ (p. 254). Their historical trajectories were both constrained and advanced by the emergence of the Lebanese nation state in 1943 and by the Independence of West African countries in the 1960s. He narrates the story of Lebanese migrants in great detail, illuminating it through his comprehensive knowledge of materials in national archives. He also situates it in the context of Middle Eastern studies and cultural studies. Throughout, the agents themselves, the Lebanese migrants, remain at the forefront of his study.

There are interesting similarities with other diasporas. The rich and successful Lebanese eventually shifted from segregated neighborhoods in West Africa's capital cities to more cosmopolitan ones, alongside embassies, high commissions, local politicians, and successful commercial families. At the same time, paradoxically, they maintained a strong emphasis on keeping a low profile. As visible strangers, even when holding a local passport, they perceived themselves to be vulnerable. Similar developments can be seen with Indians in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. But there are also some fascinating differences. After Lebanese independence in 1943, the Lebanese government recognized the importance of its diaspora in terms of remittances, investments, charities, and knowledge. The government encouraged the Lebanese emigrants to come back and participate in the newborn state. By contrast, the Indian government began overtures towards its diaspora almost fifty years after its independence.

I would have liked to see this study more generously framed within the most recent debates on diaspora and compared with other diasporas. We might then have been able to answer questions such as: what makes the Lebanese case unique, and where do we see similar patterns with other diasporas? However, I deeply appreciate Arsan's attempt to describe the experience of migrants who live ordinary lives, try to make a living, and seek new opportunities in the context of imperialism, racism, state-building projects, and a constantly changing local and global environment. This book deserves a wide readership in migration studies, African studies, cultural studies, and political science.