SIGNS OF CONFLICT

Maasri’s contribution lies not only in presenting us with the first scholarly book that offers a theorized and systemic analysis of the political posters of the Lebanese civil war but also in undertaking the arduous task of tracking down, collecting, and digitally archiving hundreds of posters that may be used in future studies. Off the Wall is bound to engage students and scholars from various disciplines, including visual culture, anthropology, art history, graphic design, and political science, as well the general reader interested in learning about the dynamics of internecine conflicts, outside interventions, and the merging of ethics and aesthetics in wartime Lebanon.

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Nadine Sinno, H-Levant (H-Net)

Zeina Maasri's new book, Off the Wall, is the first sustained study of Beirut's poster wars, and the first serious and comprehensive investigation of the way that fifteen years of fighting left an indelible mark on the city's visual culture - one that persists to this day.

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Kaelen Wilson Goldie, The National, Abu Dhabi, 2/1/2008, pp.8-9.

Zeina Maasri's book is a key intervention in studies of visual culture and mass media in the Middle East.

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Sune Haugbolle, Arab Studies Journal; Vol. XVIII No. 1, Spring 2010; pp. 334-43.

Off The Wall Arabic edition

By Zeina Maasri

Translated by Imad Chiha

Revised by Pierre Abi Saab