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jerukman's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
Super in depth and informative. Really helpful to understand history and culture of the region
miguelf's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very broad overview of the history of the Arab people from Muhammad to modern day (publish date was in the early 90’s). The coverage varies widely, from rough dates and places, to a lot of anecdotal information on the social makeup of Arab society from the 7th century to the modern day. It’s a bit too broad to overly insightful but is slightly more useful than a classroom textbook.
rfinch's review
4.0
A broad sweep of an entire region and its people and the dominant religion. Well written and engaging, the book begins with the advent of Islam and its remarkable and rapid expansion out of the central Arabian peninsula through northern Africa and Spain, the Middle East, and as far east as the Indian subcontinent (although Hourani focuses on the Arabic-seaking peoples, he includes the influences of and on the Islamic cultures further east). Hourani delves into the social, economic, political, religious, and cultural influences that helped shape the intricacies of Islam and Arab identity, as well as the roles of other cultures, religions, and regions. First published in 1991, Hourani's book ends just after the horrific Iran-Iraq War but just before the first Gulf War that followed the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. The afterward for this edition was published in 2012, following the upheavals commonly referred to as the Arab Spring, and provides an excellent update to this excellent history.
borednoodle's review against another edition
4.0
Often times reads too much like a long list of this "this ruler took over and then this ruler took over and then this ruler took over". It's just not the kind of information that I can possibly retain. The more modern history was fascinating (especially around the time of the formation of Israel), but the ancient history (prior to about the 19th century) was hard to follow.
At least Islamic culture prior the 19th century valued education and written forms of communication, so the fact that the ancient history was as thoroughly documented as it was is a minor miracle.
At least Islamic culture prior the 19th century valued education and written forms of communication, so the fact that the ancient history was as thoroughly documented as it was is a minor miracle.
ashkitty93's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
5.0
A bit dry in the beginning and Hourani, at least to me, does an excellent job of being impartial throughout. Yet even with his delicate touch, by chapter 19 it’s clear that Israel’s presence in SWANA is the primary destabilizing force. Overall an excellent look at the entire region, from Turkey (and its eventual shift in a more western/European direction) to Iran and Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, into the Sinai Peninsula, and across North Africa.
africker's review against another edition
3.0
I found the first third heavy going with the complexities of branches of Islam a bit of a snooze. Improved as it went on and sorry that the epilogue is from 2002 (probably reflecting how long this has been on the to do pile)