Scan barcode
A review by rosekk
In the Shadow of the Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World by Tom Holland
3.0
If I was rating this book on writing quality alone, it would be at least 4 stars, probably 5. It was a really enjoyable read, and surprisingly easy to follow given that it's densely packed with a lot of history (much of which was unfamiliar to me). I expected to be a little lost, having to catch up on info that would be new to me, but instead the book managed to help me keep up without feeling like anything was skipped over.
As mentioned above, my knowledge of Islamic history is pretty slim (as is my history of the period in general). I therefore can't judge how well this stacks up against prior knowledge (because I have hardly any). I've seen that there's been some criticism about what sources were used and how, so some of the theories and suggestions about the less proven elements of the history are apparently controversial. I've tried to take what I've read with a pinch of salt, therefore. It was all interesting, and came across as plausible (to me at least).
The whole project of the book (as stated in the introduction) was to try and cast the same critical eye over the origins of Islam as the author feels has been cast over Christianity. Since religious scholarship is not my area of expertise, I'm not sure how much difference there is in studies of the two religions. The aim to have more knowledge of influential belief systems seems pretty positive (and the kind of thing I'd generally be behind), and yet I was a bit unsure about it. First of all, I can't help but think (and this book has cemented the idea for me) that some pieces of knowledge really are lost to time. That doesn't mean they should be studied, but I think the suggestion that the origin of a religion stretching back so far can be wholly uncovered might need to be reigned in a bit. You can learn more, and you can offer plausible suggestions to fill the gaps. I'm not convinced you can pin down exactly when and where something as complex as a religion arose. Furthermore, I can see why some people seem to be suspicious of the motivation behind such a project. While nothing in the book suggested to me that the author was Islamophobic, or that his intentions in writing the book were bad, I can see why the book might have struck people as an attempt to undermine Islam. Combined with the light-hearted (occasionally sarcastic) manner of writing, I'm not surprised it rubbed some people the wrong way.
Over all though, I'm glad I read it. It's reminded me how enjoyable reading about history can be (even if reading review of history books can be like straying onto twitter just as someone's being cancelled).
As mentioned above, my knowledge of Islamic history is pretty slim (as is my history of the period in general). I therefore can't judge how well this stacks up against prior knowledge (because I have hardly any). I've seen that there's been some criticism about what sources were used and how, so some of the theories and suggestions about the less proven elements of the history are apparently controversial. I've tried to take what I've read with a pinch of salt, therefore. It was all interesting, and came across as plausible (to me at least).
The whole project of the book (as stated in the introduction) was to try and cast the same critical eye over the origins of Islam as the author feels has been cast over Christianity. Since religious scholarship is not my area of expertise, I'm not sure how much difference there is in studies of the two religions. The aim to have more knowledge of influential belief systems seems pretty positive (and the kind of thing I'd generally be behind), and yet I was a bit unsure about it. First of all, I can't help but think (and this book has cemented the idea for me) that some pieces of knowledge really are lost to time. That doesn't mean they should be studied, but I think the suggestion that the origin of a religion stretching back so far can be wholly uncovered might need to be reigned in a bit. You can learn more, and you can offer plausible suggestions to fill the gaps. I'm not convinced you can pin down exactly when and where something as complex as a religion arose. Furthermore, I can see why some people seem to be suspicious of the motivation behind such a project. While nothing in the book suggested to me that the author was Islamophobic, or that his intentions in writing the book were bad, I can see why the book might have struck people as an attempt to undermine Islam. Combined with the light-hearted (occasionally sarcastic) manner of writing, I'm not surprised it rubbed some people the wrong way.
Over all though, I'm glad I read it. It's reminded me how enjoyable reading about history can be (even if reading review of history books can be like straying onto twitter just as someone's being cancelled).