Customer Reviews

Al-biruni: Master Astronomer And Influential Muslim Scholar of Eleventh-century Persia (Great Muslim Philosophers and Scientists of the Middle Ages)

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The Moslem scholar Al-Biruni was born in what is now Uzbekistan in 973 A.D. A devoted believer in Islam, al-Biruni made great advances in many areas, especially math, astronomy and the study of history. Unfortunately, much of al-Biruni's life was often at the mercy of his patrons--good and bad. The books in this series would be best used by middle-school to high-school age readers and researchers. Includes: Timeline, Glossary, For More Information, For Further Reading and Bibliography.

I liked both books for the following reasons:

The book is in general not "religious", meaning it did not attribute scientific progress or lack thereof to religion, particularly Islam. When discussed, secular factors, primarily sponsorship by the wealthy and powerful, were identified as the cause of scientific progress.

It contained illustrations with informative captions, sidebars introducing tangential lines of inquiry, and discussions of the subjects' ideas and their place in their intellectual milieu.

It has a glossary and a recommended reading list.

I got this from my public library. I encourage librarians to acquire these books.

The publisher recommends this for grades 5-8. I think it could benefit students at all levels, yet the writing is accessible to the younger age group the publisher recommends.

Al-Biruni: Master Astronomer And Influential Muslim Scholar of Eleventh-century Persia

The cultural and technological achievements made in the medieval Islamic world are the foundations of present knowledge and include instruments for measuring distance and latitude, keeping time, doing invasive surgery, solving complicated mathematical problems, examining the night sky, and reconciling science and religion (the last is still being struggled with in the West).

This is one of 5 books highlighting outstanding Muslim contributors to philosophy, mathematics and/or science. Filled with full-color illustrations, featuring Islamic artwork. Each is a fine biography, well written and certain to be an important resource in any school library. Glossary, Index, Web sites, Bibliography, Resources, Timeline.

Teachers/Librarians: fine resource for 5th-9th grades; get all six in the series!