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The Caliph's Splendor: Islam And The West In The Golden Age Of Baghdad (2012)

by Benson Bobrick(Favorite Author)

3.46 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1416567623 (ISBN13: 9781416567622)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: I thought this was an interesting and well-written history. I sometimes found the jumps (between Byzantine civilization and others, for example) confusing. My one other criticism was that sometimes I found the author's tone to be one of "my dad can beat up your dad." While it is understandable to want to rectify the west's frequent denigration of Islamic and Arabic civilization, a simple highlighting of its beauties and intellectual strengths would be sufficient without a "nah nah." :-)
review 2: Quick, light introduction to an area of history too many in the West are ignorant about. While there is quite a bit to cover, the book felt a bit disjointed and out of focus, and the repeated references to the Arabian Nights wore thin. It is at its strongest when it... more focuses on the reign of Harun al-Rashid, but falters when it tries to spiral wider and take in Byzantium and Western Europe. The treatment of Andalusia is also just a quick dip at the trot, so anyone interested specifically in that area would do better to look elsewhere. Also, there is heavy use of anecdote. Overall, it felt like the kids' version of history or biography I used to read in middle school. I think I'd prefer to track down the grownups version. less

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