Customer Reviews

Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is an exploration into the "Islamic Golden Age," which is when the Middle East was a wellspring of intellectual flourishing. The second half of the 8th century to the 12th century in the Near East is a keystone of the intellectual history of human civilization. Many great thinkers of this time period, such as Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Al-Kindi are responsible for translating, preserving and adding to the wealth of knowledge created by the many great intellectuals of Classical Greece and the Roman Republic. During the Islamic Golden Age, there were countless advancements in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, optics, engineering and surgery while the Western world intellectually wallowed in the Dark Ages. Because many Muslim scholars kept the Aristotelian tradition of recognizing that the universe can be known through reason, it was possible for the Western world to eventually rediscover these values (by gaining access to the Islamic works) and to ignite the Renaissance.

Unlike many other books that touch upon this subject, this book recognizes the *individuals* who made specific intellectual achievements. Most other books typically credit the accomplishments of this era to the Muslim world in general. Needless to say, such a false attribution is as misleading as stating that 19th and 20th century Americans invented the light bulb, the telephone and the transistor.

In this book, amongst many other things, you will learn about:

* al-Haytham and his seminal work on optics
* Omar Khayyam, and his written eloquent and insightful attacks on religious mysticism that were ahead of his time
* Ibn Firnas and his designing and testing of a flying contraption
* Ibn Sina's impressive list of accomplishments in medicine, including his extensive study of human anatomy, of various infectious diseases, of bone fractures, of cancers, his introduction of over 700 drugs and a rudimentary understanding of a scientific approach to clinical trials.
* Al-Zahrawi's advancements in suture, antiseptics, and obstetrics
* And many more, including the great mathematician al-Khwarzimi, the chemist Jabir ibn Haiyan, the physician Maimonides, the staunch Aristotelian Ibn Rushd and the prolific translator of the classical works Al-Kindi.

Unfortunately, this book has a number of salient flaws. First, the style of presentation is very unpleasant for those who read history to accumulate facts. Each chapter begins with several pages of a contemporary fictional account as a lead in. In my opinion, these pieces are uninteresting and they break the flow of the book. More importantly, the author provides no citations. This blurs the divide between fact and speculation, which is very troublesome, since the author warns the reader that he dressed up the factual content with "imaginary recreations."

Second, the author intentionally does not attempt to answer the most important questions: "What caused the deluge of intellectual achievement in the Muslim world of the Middle Ages?" and "What brought this brilliant era to a halt?". In fact, the author indicats he does not wish to "settle any academic debates" but instead seeks to incorporate elements from each of many competing and contradictory viewpoints. Unfortunately, this leaves the reader with a sense of incompleteness and suggests that while the author sought to present the truth when it came to individuals and their accomplishments, he is not interested in identifying the causal, intellectual forces that drive history.

This book gets four stars because an accessible book on the Golden Age of the Near East is such a rare commodity and is so essential to fully understanding intellectual history. I think a much better book (one that lacks the meek, non-judgmental multiculturalist tone) can be written. If other such books existed, then I surely would rate this book much lower.

The West and the world owe the Islamic world much: in medicine, ethics, metaphysics, mathematics, astronomy, poetry, architecture, literature and music Islam has had a profound influence. Just how deep the connections are, and how great the debt owed is the basis for Morgan's book.

After presenting a brief history of the first centuries of Islam, the richness, depth, breadth and variety of Islamic thought is presented, convincingly arguing that Muslim philosophers and scientists are inheiritors of the Greco-Roman world as much (if not more than) Europe, and that these thinkers pushed intellectual boundaries to the benefit of everyone. These details make the book, as the connections between 9th and 10th century Islam and the present are profound.

However, Morgan has a tendency to dramatize and personify history, which I though detracted from the effectiveness of his point. To write about the internal thoughts of ibn Sina would be fine for fiction, but have no place in a historical text. Similarly, in an effort to make the connections between past and present clearer, each chapter begins with a character in the present reflecting on or wrestling with the legacy of the Islamic past. Because of this, I almost gave it three stars - but the importance and impact of the Islamic past is so important and relevant that I forgave him a star.

With this historical caveat, it is a remarkable read, and one that I highly recommend.

This book has an articulated, worthy purpose: to bring to the general reader some understanding of the richness of Islamic civilization. The details of the work of Moslem writers, scientists and artists have been lost to general perception in Western history, yet the accomplishments of Islamic society, from the seventh century on, have flowed into and enriched the Judeo-Christian world. In fact, the three traditions -- Christian, Jewish, and Islamic -- are inextricably braided. The Islamic world gave rise to some of the earliest libraries, universities and hospitals and, at its best, has encouraged an idea of civic tolerance that permits the development of the talents of all, whatever the religious orientation.

In Lost History, Michael Morgan presents a dense and richly detailed overview of the flowering of Islamic culture. While he gives some attention to religious controversies and some to war and conquest, Morgan's primary purpose is to illuminate the achievements of the artists and intellectuals -- not all of them Moslem -- who were nurtured by Islamic society. The book is a call to become more aware of how their work still echoes around us; it is a spur to further reading and study.

LOST HISTORY: THE ENDURING LEGACY OF MUSLIM SCIENTISTS, THINKERS, AND ARTISTS comes from a diplomat who provides a reasoned view of Muslim culture to counter the current negative focus on terrorism and war. It seeks to return positive Islam's contributions to world attention, examining its major cultural, artistic and scientific contributions over the centuries and showing how early Muslim breakthroughs in science, culture and business helped build the European Renaissance and other movements - right up to modern digital times. A 'must' for any college-level collection strong in Islamic history and culture or world history in general.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Like finding a precious gem in the middle of a pile of debris, I consider this book as much of a rare find in this age. Truly honest and well-researched, it compiles a mind-bewildering amount of detail and information about everything from Islamic history to scientific advancements of the Middle Ages through political conditions of pre-modern Europe. It is written in such a fluid, eloquent style that Morgan has become one of my favorite authors, and I hope to find more of his work.

I have researched the history of development of the arts and letters and science informally and will start to pursue it academically, so I can say about this work that it is as concise and comprehensive a compilation as any I have come across. George Sarton, a Harvard professor of the 1940's, has written 5 volumes on this subject, and yet, Morgan's analysis is more insightful. For instance, Sarton notes the ethnicity behind each and every Muslim scholar or scientist of other faith in the Islamic world who accomplished a great feat. Was he an Arab or a Persian or a Christian or a Jew? Sarton asks of each, in trying to establish that in many instances Jewish or Christian or non-Arab scholars achieved success on their own, thereby downplaying the significance of the Islamic Renaissance as a whole. Morgan makes the point that multi-ethnicity was exactly the source of the Islamic civilization's success: the multiplicity of people of faiths who lived harmoniously and collaborated on projects of translation and learning was a mark of the Muslim golden age's tolerance and pluralism.

So while other historians emphasize the Muslim's material accomplishments in medieval times, they miss the Islamic contribution of tolerance and peace. Morgan does not. From p. 136 of Lost History: "By the ninth and tenth centuries, the Jewish intellectual communities and economies of Muslim Spain, in cities like Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo, are at their peak. Not only have Jews risen to hold the second highest political position in the realm, under Hasdai ibn Shaprut working for Caliph Abd Al-Rahman III; they are also producing their own rich literature, music, philosophy, and scientific thought, sometimes independently, sometimes in collaboration with those of other faiths."

Morgan's precision in unfolding the history of the Muslims from one era to another and from one glorious center of learning to another (Baghdad to Cordoba, or Damascus to Cairo) does not lose the reader or leave him/her bogged down in dates. His narration flows effortlessly and takes you on an awe-inspiring ride. Though one reviewer noted that Morgan over-reaches when he tries to write of scholars' past thoughts (such as Ibn Sina), I think he is using a fictive element (3rd person omniscient) for a good reason. He is trying to evoke a recognition in the Western mind of what another culture has experienced. It is just one technique he uses in making us understand another peoples by walking in their shoes. He is a literary genius, and I cannot hold him to task for employing every means to bridge these two (currently) very remote cultures.

I hope there are other gems in the making, such as this one. It is a pleasure to read a work that is so humble and honest that it can give credit where ever it is due - even to other cultures or civilizations - rather than downplaying their historic importance.

I'm grateful for this informative book written specifically for those of us without an extensive background in the complexities it covers. It's readable and provides real insight into the tensions that are affecting us all today. It's a fascinating read. I hope Mr. Morgan gets the coverage for this book that it's due -- it could prove useful to many of us -- educators and interested folks alike.

In these troubled times, it is in the best interest of humanity to extend bridges of understanding between various cultures. Conflict and war accomplish nothing and destroy everything.

This book introduces us to the facts about Islamic civilsation in a simple, concise, and enjoyable way. The book shows us how interwined and inter-dependent our history is. In this respect, the book serves a great purpose of closing the cultural gap and reduce chances for conflict. I find the book a valuable work for the cause of peace on Earth.

This book brings to us the truth about Islamic civilsation and its great contributions to the Western civilsation as we know it today. If you want the truth about Islam and Islamic civilsation, turn off the TV, put the newspaper aside, and read this book!

It is very easy to brush aside something one don't find interesting or do not fully understand the depth and research it takes to come out with this gem of a book. Very fluidly written and I for one read it with a sense of fascination. It gave me a new insight to the work done by the muslim thinkers,scientist, philosphers etc. This book will help to know how much the modern world owe to these great men of the middle ages.

Michael Morgan has definitely done an extensive research when he wrote this book. Indeed, in today's turbulent world this book has more imporatance than ever. The notion that Muslims were and are a backward civilization who had not contributed anything good is a false and dangerous belief. When history is lost, so do our understanding of each other. As stated in this book, the Muslim civilization had translated thousands of previous civilizations work, innovated countless technological innovations and contributed to fields of science, starting from math and physics to ethics and economy. Cordoba, Cairo and Baghdad were considered "the intellectual center of the world" that attracted scientists from all over the globe. Universities, libraries and observatories were established in the Islamic world to contribute to its advancement in science and technology.

The only criticism I have is that the book has focused around two thirds of it on the expansion of the Muslim conquest. Only a third of the book talks about the scientists, artists and thinkers of that civilization. Regardless, it is still a very valuable book that I will probably read again.

I came across this book by chance, but read it with much interest. It's not academic and might not be suitable for people who are well-read in history or trying to accumulate facts.

It offers history lessons in a nice and attractive way. Showing at any point in time, the debates that took place, different parties involved, the location where this took place (great description of Baghdad for example as the most sophisticated city on earth at that time). Hence giving a comprehensive picture of the civilization at that time. Something rarely done with students even in the region where much of this history originates.

The book also demonstrates that the age under study was not only about some scientific and technical achievements with some literature that was all unrelated. It demonstrates that this was a true civilization with the full sophistication expected from people who played their role with great responsibility in leading the human civilization for hundreds of years.

It is great also to see that in many occasions the achievement was not only in science, literature or art. The great victory was philosophical! .. the debate between rationalist and traditionalists. That contradiction between science and religion was not to be avioded, needed, and understood considering the lack of complete understanding of either, and that it not only should be allowed, but it's a basis for continuous debate which was needed. An interesting example was Al-Khwarizmi's mathematics work presented as a great human philosophical achievement that is taken now for granted and went largely un-challenged for hundreds of years.

Again, even if this is not an academic reference, it does a great job education people who have interest in that period or the region. It works well as a list of the people who you would like to read about, or read their work.

It's extremely needed for general education. Even in an area where this history originates, students are not offered a multi-angle view of how politics, religion, culture, science, wars, geography and other aspects intertwined to create something great. It's equally needed at this time to answer those who promote that some cultures are inferior, and some religions are just uncivilized.

Finally, the book doesn't answer 'what went wrong?' and why did it end?'.. but who can provide a short answer?! .. many things went wrong and clearly the book offers a narrow explanation. It would be great to follow the thread of these thoughts; study all the things that were the critical ingredients of success and see what happened ot them along the way. A debate largely abscent in a serious shape.

All in all, a book badly needed at this time, presented in a light approach and offers a very interesting picture making it easier for us to teach the new generation to read the good and bad about their history. Also, to ask more questions and try to go and find answers elsewhere ... exactly what people at that age have done. 4 stars.