A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day (5th Edition) [Paperback]

P.M. Holt (Author), M.W. Daly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0582368863 | ISBN-13: 978-0582368866 | Edition: 5

Here is a new edition of well-known introductory history of the Sudan, which takes events of this troubled region up to 1998. This extended coverage considers the last years of Jaafar Nimeiri's government to his fall from power in 1985; the subsequent transitional military regime; the return to parliamentary rule, and the current attempts to establish an Islamic state under a renewed military regime. More than a political narrative, this book shows how the modern Sudan has been shaped by three key elements in its history: the influence of the Ottoman Empire; the impact of British domination; and, above all else, the enduring indigenous tradition of the region, produced by the intermingling of its African and Arab Muslim inheritance.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This is a new edition of a comprehensive introductory history of the Sudan. Updated to include coverage of recent events including the disintegration of the country in the brutal civil war and the attempts to establish an Islamist state under a new military regime. It also describes the making of modern Sudan over the last 150 years and offers a clear, readable and succinct introduction to an area that is seldom out of the world's headlines For those interested in Islamic or African History.

About the Author

P.M.Holt is Professor Emeritus of the History of the Near East, University of London.

Martin Daly is head of the Department of Humanities and Social Science, Kettering University, USA. He has recently published Darfur’s Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide with CUP.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 5 edition (March 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582368863
• ISBN-13: 978-0582368866
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,764,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dense with Information, But Difficult to Follow, January 1, 2003

By 

Jeffery Steele (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day (5th Edition) (Paperback)

Unless you already know a good deal about the history of the Sudan, this is probably not the book for you. While the text is less than 200 pages (not counting maps, bibliography, and index), the stunning number of names, organizations, and regions in it makes this a slow read, requiring the kind of careful attention one would use for a textbook. It is not a general history for the general reader.

But even with careful reading, this text can be confusing at times. I'm interested in the relationship between Libya and the Sudan through the Nimeiri era, and this book refers to that relationship several times. But it does so in a haphazard and seemingly contradictory way. On pages 168 and 169, Libya appears to support Nimeiri. But on page 172, Libya is cited as supporting the SPLA and, on page 174, the north African country supports a coup attempt against Nimeiri by a rival. No explanation is given for the change of policy.

I happen to know the reason for the change, but that is not the point. Any general history should be clear as to why the major actors in its drama have changed their positions. There are other instances of this kind of lack of clarity in the book.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WELL-WRITTEN GENERAL HISTORY OF THE SUDAN..., May 15, 2005

By 

mfradin42 "Murray S. Fradin" (New York City (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day (5th Edition) (Paperback)

Noted scholar, P.M. Holt has written a fine history of this region touching on all of the salient points in the development of Islam and its' metamorphosis throughout the 19th century. In particular, he shows how the force of Islam directly affected the Western Powers in Egypt and Sudan from the mid 19th century to the end of that millennium. In my new book, JIHAD: The Mahdi Rebellion in the Sudan (2003) I break down these historical forces and try to show how Islamic Radicalism is not a new force but a historical and cyclical one. We are, in my opinion, in the radical phase of Islamic history. Fundamentalism has reared its' head in many other Moslem nations today in answer to perceived Western intrusion into the sovereign affairs of these countries. Then too, there is the matter of economics- that is- oil! Whereas, the 19th century witnessed the building and opening of the Suez Canal for the purpose of commerce, the 21st has become the "Age of Energy." The Old Imperialism of the 19th century has given rise to a New Imperialism based on the economics of fossil fuels- most of it lying in Moslem lands. Sudan became a threat to Britain's ambitions in the region in the late 19th century when Fundamentalism among its' people fueled a vast uprising in the 1880's. Professor Holt writes of the entire picture while I try to encapsulate only those factors that impact on the United States today in the War on Terror. I found the book, A HISTORY OF THE SUDAN: FROM THE COMING OF ISLAM TO THE PRESENT DAY a good read but felt that he could have focused more on the factors within Islam that impact the West and the U.S. today in term of stopping terrorism.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting book, March 12, 2007

By 

Salah Hassan "book explorer" (Philadelphia , PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day (5th Edition) (Paperback)

detailed book , the author being lived in the Sudan , gave his views , vision and analysis that reflected thr real life and facts .