PC Review, November 1995

A few months ago I moved away from Peckham, the rather grim area of South London where I had the misfortune to spend most of my life. I can't say that I was sorry to go. Rough, dirty, smelly and violent - it's the sort of place that taxi drivers refuse to drop you for tear of being ambushed at traffic lights by gangs ot knife-wielding youths. I'm not joking.

But Peckham is a picnic compared to Beirut. To quote Days of Rage,

"Beirut isn't just a cily. It's a symbol of a particular kind of twentieth century madness."

And that is the very sentiment that this CD-ROM tries to put across.

Days of Rage is an unusual piece of multimedia. It is not a travelogue, an educational toy or a glossy interactive coffee table book, but an example of photojournalism at its best. Based on the award-winning work of photographer Judah Passow, who covered the conflict between 1982 and 1985, it does not attempt to sensationalise the war but chronicles the lives of those affected by it. As such it is a very visual product, relying on the strength of the images to put its point across. The photographs have a sark beauty of their own, ranging as they do from the harrowing to the plain bizarre, and although they speak for themselves, all are accompanied by spoken accounts from Israeli and Lebanese citizens.

The photographs form the core of the product, but there are also essays by journalist Julie Flint and Passow himself. There are also statistics which give details of the main religions and factions involved, the cost of the war (both in terms of money and human lives), and the casualties.

Don't go buying this CD expecting a historical account of the troubles in Beirut - it is more a catalogue of Passow's work than anything else - but the information is there if you need it. Even if the statistics are not of particular interest to you, they add a bit of weight to the program and make surprising reading.

Days of Rage is a very good product, no doubt about it. It holds together well and is easy to find your way around - the interface is intuitive, with icons that remain hidden until you move the cursor over them. You may not feel drawn towards a CD which covers such a difficult subject, but the superb photography and balanced reporting makes it extremely worthwhile. I can only describe it as eye-opening.

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