Beirut: City of Regrets offers a stark visual exploration of Lebanon’s capital in the throes of conflict and aftermath. Eli Reed employs intimate black-and-white photography to depict the fractured urban landscape alongside its resilient residents. The sequencing contrasts scenes of visible destruction with moments of quiet daily life, capturing the tension between devastation and survival. Across 188 pages, the hardcover book presents candid street photographs and portraiture that articulate themes of memory, trauma, and endurance in an atmosphere marked by political turmoil and urban decay.

Published in 1988 by W. W. Norton & Company, this volume functions as a nuanced document of a turbulent historical period for Beirut. Collectors interested in photobooks that reflect socio-political crises through personal and documentary perspectives will find this book significant. While the edition’s print run and market scarcity remain unclear, the combination of Reed’s impactful visual narrative and production quality makes it of marked interest for those focusing on war reportage, Middle Eastern history, or documentary photography. Its position within the late-1980s photobook canon offers insight into visual approaches to conflict documentation during that era.