The Rough Guide History of Islam [Paperback]

Justin Wintle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2003 | Series: Rough Guide Histories

This volume tells the whole story of Islam - its origins, doctrines and world-wide political dimension. From Muhammad's proclamation of a monotheism to rival Judaism and Christianity, it traces the emergence of a succession of empires in the wake of the Arab conquests, continuing through to the turbulence of the present-day Middle East.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An absolute godsend. . .Balanced, comprehensive, enlightening — and a triumph for the Rough Guides stable of handy historical reference books -- The Independent, 31 May 2003

The best of all recent publications on Islam -- Observer 18 May 2003

About the Author

Justin Wintle works mainly as a freelance author, editor and journalist. His books include: The Dictionary of Biographical Quotation, Makers of Modern Culture; and Makers of Nineteenth Century Culture; A Dictionary of Arabic and Islamic. He has written for many newspapers, magazines and periodicals. He currently contributes to The Sunday Times, The Financial Times and The Independent.

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides (June 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184353018X
• ISBN-13: 978-1843530183
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,592,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Year-by-Year History of Islam, February 21, 2005

By 

William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rough Guide History of Islam (Paperback)

What I found interesting about this book is its year-by-year look at the history of Islam. Starting with the Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) birth it notes some Islamic-related event occuring each year up through 2002. Earlier years have less events noted than later years. Islamic events covered occur throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Not only are Islamic religious events noted, but so are other Islamic-related subjects: politics, all types of Muslim personalities, countries, women, military campaigns, coups, Balkan Wars, Copts, etc. Not a whole lot of "depth" to any subject; but at least besides noting that some event happened it provides a brief one-sentence "why" some Muslim leader did what he did. Its a small paperback, about the size of your hand; but a good inch thick! (This is nothing like Esposito's "The Oxford History of Islam" which provides extensive chapters on specific subjects.) At first I thought that there was simply toooo much mind-bogling history of Islam covered in this paperback, but that is exactly was makes it so useful with its 1,400 "snippets" of Islamic history. Lots and lots of Islamic trivia data for a few dollars.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real history of Islam, August 4, 2005

By 

Williams Kumar (Beaverton, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide History of Islam (Paperback)

If you want the most conscience and easy to understand history of Islam, this is the book you need. From explaining the political situation in which Islam rose, scientific achievements, wars against itself and Christians, as well as it's impact outside the Middle East, this is one of the best books I have seen on the subject. A dynamic history and faith, this book delievers both the glory and controversy in which the religion of Islam still brings todays.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Tentacles?, July 5, 2009

By 

Wm. Boletta "wlbtyo" (Tokyo JAPAN/San Francisco USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide History of Islam (Paperback)

I am trying to gain a balanced and objective understanding of Islam. This is not easy with all of the ignorance and prejudice that abounds these days, even among academics. I have several of the Rough Guides, so I thought I would check this one out.

After reading the Introduction given above and coming across the phrase "Islam spread its tentacles still further" in one of the early paragraphs, I decided that I would pass on this Rough Guide. Talk about biased language from the get-go! Maybe you should pass on this title as well.

Also, the endlessly rehashed innaccurate stereotype about Islam being a religion spread by the sword boggles my mind especially since the religion that best fits this description is Christianity--not Islam. Just think Crusades, Thrity Years War, and on and on.