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Islam in European Thought

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"Islam in European Thought" by Albert Hourani, 1991, English 199 pgs. This is a collection of 9 essays pertaining to various Middle East issues between the eighteenth to the twentieth century that written by the author. They are: "Islam in European Thought" (1986 and the longest with 50 pgs) .) [discusses the views of various European historians regarding the Middle East]; "Wednesday afternoons remembered" (1988) [discussion of Oriental studies at English universities]; "Marshall Hodgson and the Venture of Islam" (1978) [study of Hodgson developing his great book]; "Islamic History, Middle Eastern history, modern history (1980) [a study of various European and Occidentalist scholars that impacted the author]; "T.E. Lawrence and Louis Massignon" (1983) [a study of the French military officer Massignon and his `workings' with the young British officer during their mutual support of the Arabian forces revolting against the Ottomans during late WWI]; "In search of a new Andalusia" (1982) [a study of the French scholar Jacques Berque]; "Culture and change: the Middle East in the Eighteenth century" (1977); "Bustani's enclyclopaedia" (1990); & "Sulaiman al-Bustani and [his translation of] the Iliad". A lot of enjoyable reading about how various scholars pursued historical topics regarding the Middle East.

This is an invaluable companion to islamic history, historiography and the historians themselves. This book contains monograph-type short essays on wide topics concerning middle-east and Islam. With an emphasis on sociology of the society to be studied the author makes careful study of his subject in a concise way. His reviews are also very insightful. Hourani has put all his life-long wisdom into this slender volume.