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A review by edwardhabib
The Middle East by Bernard Lewis
3.0
7/10. This book was a decent overview of the history of the Middle East, but it was really hard to look beyond the book’s jumbled organization, its dated presentation, and the author’s apparent boredom with some parts of the subject matter — particularly the pre-Ottoman sections.
I picked up this book hoping to have a better understanding of the early Islamic empires and their monumental achievements in art, science, and culture. However, the book spent way more time dryly chronicling conquest after conquest without sufficient context or explanation of how some of the more obscure battles and civilizations fit into the big picture.
This book was most successful at illustrating the strong ties between the development of early Islam and the ways in which the faith was deeply influenced by the lived reality of life in the Arab world even during Muhammad’s lifetime.
I really enjoyed the middle section of the book. The focus on themes such as the economy, culture, and class was far more effective than the rushed chronology of the rest of the book. However, even these chapters would have benefited from sub-headers and better organization.
Overall, this book left me wanting to follow up on certain topics such as the Abbasid caliphate, the Ottomans, and the history of Lebanon. However, it didn’t quite meet what I was hoping for in an overview of the region’s rich history. I wouldn’t recommend this book as a cover-to-cover read, but some chapters are good reference texts.
I picked up this book hoping to have a better understanding of the early Islamic empires and their monumental achievements in art, science, and culture. However, the book spent way more time dryly chronicling conquest after conquest without sufficient context or explanation of how some of the more obscure battles and civilizations fit into the big picture.
This book was most successful at illustrating the strong ties between the development of early Islam and the ways in which the faith was deeply influenced by the lived reality of life in the Arab world even during Muhammad’s lifetime.
I really enjoyed the middle section of the book. The focus on themes such as the economy, culture, and class was far more effective than the rushed chronology of the rest of the book. However, even these chapters would have benefited from sub-headers and better organization.
Overall, this book left me wanting to follow up on certain topics such as the Abbasid caliphate, the Ottomans, and the history of Lebanon. However, it didn’t quite meet what I was hoping for in an overview of the region’s rich history. I wouldn’t recommend this book as a cover-to-cover read, but some chapters are good reference texts.