|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Review
Book Description
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
In response to attacks on 'objectivity'...,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Paperback)
The arguments against this book are surprisingly vehement, but they seem to ignore one very large and glaring detail about it: the title. This book is not meant to paint an objective, all-encompassing view of the struggle between Islam and Christianity from the eighth-century onward. It is merely painting a picture of contemporary responses to the Crusades in the Muslim world of the time. Does it endorse them? No. Does it use them on some kind of attack of Christianity? No. As was stated before, the author is a Christian. So that little attack collapses rather easily, doesn't it?We have a wealth of information the Christian response to Islam's rise. Look at the thousands upon thousands of volumes on Byzantium, the Papacy, and the Frankish Empire. In fact, we're so used to having the picture painted as 'evil Islam attacks defenseless Europe' that the Crusades almost axiomatically become 'justice' rather than what they were, which was an exercise in barbarity. And that isn't just barbarity against Muslims. It was barbarity against EVERYONE different. Crusaders murdered countless numbers of Jewish people on their march to the east, and even eventually ended up sacking and destroying the Orthodox Byzantine Empire in 1204 (Fourth Crusade). At the behest of the scheming Venetians, no less, who wanted a Latin Emperor. Muslim civilization counted among its strong points an extremely refined and advanced culture that was shocked by the unbelievable animal cruelty of the Crusaders. I am not attacking Christianity nor defending the invasions of Islam into Europe. But it is hardly fair to compare the Muslim rule in Spain, which was one of the most advanced and tolerant nations on the face of the planet, with the butchery of the Crusades. A glance at the title tells us where the strength of the book lies. It shows us what it felt to be Muslim during the Crusaders. It gives us the same breadth of knowledge and then provides the corresponding reaction. I thought it was incredible, and for anyone who isn't stuck in a mindless, self-righteous arrogance that has to paint Islam as evil, I highly recommend it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes,
By "wfrick13" (Colgate University) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Paperback)
This book is well described by its title. Amin Maalouf provides the historical perspective of the Crusades from the point of view of Arabs. Maalouf begins with the arrival of the Franj ("a word which is used in colloquial Arabic even today to designate Westerners, and the French in particular") and chronicles the conflict, ending with the conflict with the Mongols.Maalouf utilizes the perspective of Arab historians of the day in order to give the book a high degree of legitimacy. This analysis based of primary sources is the reason that I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, and of course anyone who wishes to fully understand the Crusades.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
To understand the crusades - know both sides,
By Mark Billows (Atlanta GA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Paperback)
After reading four books on the crusades, and feeling exhausted on the subject, I read this book and not only was it good in its own right, but it pieced together many of the other books I read. I wouldsuggest reading this after you have read at least one book on the crusades.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
|
