Reviews (12)

A lively and dynamic history
Lacey provides a colorful portrait of Arabia and the House of Saud, important players in history of the Middle East. Abdul Aziz ibn Saud and his descendants, ibn Abdul Wahhab, the Rasheeds, the Husains, Philby, Shakespear, and many others are vividly portrayed in a skillful narrative.
Dated?!?
It's called HISTORY! Not "dated" material! Jeez!!!

Well written and documented Historical Narrative
Few academic books are composed and delivered in an engaging style. This book has accomplished that level of excellence. One criticism of this book is not enough information on the royal family-almost no books on Saudi Arabia will deliver that info. Nevertheless, the info on the royal family in his book is sufficient to boost more interest in the House of Saud. One thing is for sure: if you have a quest for History the book is a must read. However, the book is verboten in the kingdom. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History: World    3. Middle East - History    4. Saudi Arabia   

Reviews (2)

Not for the average reader
This is a book you cannot read like a novel; even as a diary, it is hard to understand, because entries are short and there are many unintelligible initials and half-words. It is a book for scholars, not for the average reader.

Very highly recommended reading for women's studies
Gertrude Bell was an English woman who lived an extraordinary life of adventure. She rode with bandits, braved desert shamals, was captured by Bedouins, and sojourned in a harem. The counselor to kings and prime ministers, her illustrious colleagues included Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. Very highly recommended reading for women's studies, and 20th century studies reading lists and library collections, Gertrude Bell: The Arabian Diaries, 1913-1914 is wonderfully illustrated with her photography and exemplifies her elegant, vibrant prose, as well as documenting her on of the 20th Century's most daring, resourceful, independent, and larger-than-life characters. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1868-1926    2. Bell, Gertrude Lowthian,    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Description And Travel    5. Earth Sciences - Geography    6. Essays & Travelogues    7. History: World    8. Middle East - General    9. Saudi Arabia    10. Science    11. Social life and customs    12. Travel    13. Travelers    14. ASIA    15. Biography: general    16. Colonization & independence    17. Middle East    18. Travel writing    19. Women's studies    20. c 1900 - c 1914   

Reviews (17)

Misleading and mendacious
The author's suggestion that pre-Wahhabist Islam had been peaceful, and the Ottoman Empire tolerant, is a fallacy better understood in the context of his own conversion to Islam. Mr. Schwartz is known among his co-religionists as Suleyman Ahmad and has an eccentic entry on >jews-for-allah.org< about his relgious experience. This is essential information about the author and his agenda. It is unfortunate that it is missing from the blurb or from the book itself.

Insightful, well researched, and disturbing
In "The two Faces of Islam", Stephen Schwartz locates the primary source of fanatically intolerant Islam in the world today, finding its origin in the Wahhabi denomination, which is the official religion of Saudi-Arabia. This version of Islam, Schwartz argues, was imposed on Arabia by naked force, and maintains its power by official suppression of all other Islamic traditions. Then, in recent decades, the Wahhabi supremacists have launched a massive campaign, backed by Saudi oil wealth, to export and impose their uniquely intolerant fundamentalism onto every Muslim community in the world. In contrast to this, Schwartz highlights resistance to the Wahhabis from other Muslims, be they devotees of Sufi mystics or ordinary believers in many nations, who stress compassion and forgiveness as primary values.
Main Points Are Well Taken
The main thesis of this book, that the Saudi elite seem to be our friends on the surface while encouraging fundamentalist extremism behind the scenes, should be very clear to everyone with a brain by now. Schwartz shows plenty of evidence of how the Saudis and Wahhabism effectively have been deceiving the west with some very frightening results around the world. That's the main message of the book and it's right on target.
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Subjects:  1. Comparative Religion    2. History    3. History & Theory - General    4. History: World    5. Islam    6. Islam - Rituals & Practice    7. Islamic Government    8. Middle East - General    9. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Asian / Middle Eastern history    12. History / Middle East    13. Saudi Arabia    14. Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle   

Reviews (1)

The Benchmark
This book, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is the current benchmark for analysis of Saudi Arabia's national security issues.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. Middle East - Saudi Arabia    4. Military    5. Military - General    6. Military policy    7. National security    8. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Saudi Arabia    11. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    12. History / Middle East    13. Warfare & Defence   

Reviews (278)

Sad, yet Excited Story
I am only about halfway through "Princess," yet I absolutely adore it. Seeing what actually happens in Saudi Arabia, even to princesses, makes me want to help them. Nobody deserves to be treated the way she does, and I hope that someday, I'll be able to help Sultana and many others fight for women's rights. It's time we took a stand.
A must read!!!!
I currently reside in Geneva, Switzerland and was curious to know more of the veiled women that I see walking the streets in the summer. This story is riveting to say the least and to know that these customs still exist is saddening. I would have never believed until I saw it with my own eyes. Saudi Royals in stretch limos, their entourage in tow, rolling out the red carpets, literaly, as 10 individuals empty out a Louis Vutton store. They were purchasing 10+ bags ranging over $2000.00 a piece. It was a site. Their wives following behind them like wounded yet well trained dogs. Sasson captures, what I believe, to be the true essence of Saudi Royal life.

Couldn't put it down!
This book...is overwhelming to say the least. But it's excellent. It really opens your eyes to the way things are over there. Some items will appall and make you sick but others will make you smile. Can't wait to read the rest in the series! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1956-    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Feminism & Feminist Theory    4. Human Rights    5. Saudi Arabia    6. Saudi Arabia - History    7. Social conditions    8. Sociology    9. Sociology Of Women    10. Sultana,    11. Women    12. Women's Studies    13. Sultana   

Subjects:  1. Arab countries    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Campaigns    8. General    9. Great Britain    10. Historical - British    11. Historical - General    12. History - General History    13. Lawrence, T. E. (Thomas Edward), 1888-1935    14. Middle East - Saudi Arabia    15. Middle East specialists    16. Military    17. Soldiers    18. World War, 1914-1918    19. Biography & Autobiography / General    20. Biography: general    21. English   

Reviews (2)

The House of Saud of Saudi Arabia.
For those interested in how this country came into being, this is a great book.I never thought that the history of this country is relatively new.The House of Saud ruled the region of the Nejed.They dispossesed the House of Rasheed through the use of a fundamentalistIslamic religion called Wahhabism.Then they conquered the Hejez, ruled by the Hashemites.The leader of the Nejed was Ibn Saud.He lived a long and fruitful life, having over 50 sons (no mention of daughters though).When he died in 1953, his sons took over and haved ruled since.The current sovereign Abdullah is one of his oldest.
From Nomads to Moguls
When I opened this book and read that the author was murdered in Cairo before finishing it, I began to get an idea of what I was getting into. Holden, a writer for the London Times, chronicles the rise of the Saudi Royal family beginning with the seizure of power by Ibn Saud in 1901. Many people neglect to position North African and the Middle East in World War II, but Holden recognizes how conflicts in these regions continue to be a problem today. Churchill carved up Kuwait, inciting future Iraqi aggression, and John Foster Dulles hobnobbed with the slick prince Feisal. Feisal was seen most recently in a picture in the New Yorker chatting it up with Muhammed Bin Laden, father of you know who, back in the `50's. Cars, planes, diamonds, Aristotle Onanasis, the Suez canal. To understand the role of the Saudis in world events is complicated, and Holden's book is often dry with details. His sense of humor saves him, describing incidents where Ibn Saud's successor is hospitalized and insists on making love to one of his wives in his hospital bed, assisted by several others. Better for academics and scholars than the average reader, this book is nonetheless accessible to those willing to look. Holden includes many vivid photographs of the sheiks posing with awkward executives and oil prospectors. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. Middle East - History    3. Saudi Arabia   

Reviews (19)

Correct misconceptions
Hadith, which means tradition is a report of the Prophet's words, deeds, and attitude made by one of his contemporaries. Accepted collections of Hadith are referred to as Sunnah--Muhammad's speeches, sayings, deeds, and actions--are considered to be inspired by Allah. Sunnah is based on works compiled in the eight to tenth centuries, from which all accounts of the revelations of the Qur'an and early years of Islam are derived.
A Hard Read
This book is an excellent reference for those wanting a more in-depth knowledge of Islam, but be warned:It is a difficult read.The text is flowery, repetitive, and much of the time so convoluted that after perusing a section one is left scratching one's head and asking, "What did he say?".So be prepared for a lot of very close reading and rereading.
This Book Leaves Something Out!!!!
I only give this book 2 stars because it does not give the true account of Mohommad's life. He had sex with children - that is a fact. Read the Hadith, it plainly states that mohammed had sex with girls at least 7-8 years old. If he were alive today he would be arrested and put in jail. I would then call mohammed a pedophile pervertt.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. History    5. History: World    6. Muhammad,    7. Muslims    8. Muòhammad,    9. Prophet,    10. Religious    11. Saudi Arabia    12. d. 632    13. ASIA    14. History / Asia    15. History, World | Asian    16. Islamic studies    17. Other prose: classical, early & medieval   

Reviews (9)

The Beginning of Oil In Saudi Arabia
This is an incredible adventure and love story which reveals the early oil exploration in Saudi Arabia.It is about a mining engineer turned geologist and his keen observations revealed in his letters to his bride while he wanders around the Arabian peninsula in search of a key outcrop.

As a Saudi I am impressed with this book
I am an American Educated Saudi businessman living in Jeddah, Saudi Arbaia but I have been doing business with Aramco for the past 20 years or so.I know the Eastern part of Saudi Arabia as well as Riyadh, where my family and I lived for 17 years before moving back to our home town, Jeddah. My grandfather was a wonderful man!
As being one of the many grandchildren of Thomas Barger (A.K.A Daddy Tom to us!)I found this book inspirational and touching. I never had the chance to actually meet my grandfather, but through this book I had a chance to understand what his job really entailed and how great a man he really was. The best part of the book are the love letters between Daddy Tom and Kathleen. Their romance produced 6 wonderful children and 13 glorious grandchildren. Get this book if you are even slightly interested in the history and traditions of Arabia! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Barger, Thomas C    3. Barger, Thomas C.    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Correspondence    6. History    7. Petroleum    8. Petroleum geologists    9. Prospecting    10. Saudi Arabia    11. United States   

Reviews (15)

Dated, but thorough and intelligent
Referring to the older version of the book: As a trained Political Scientist who worked in the area of economic planning part of the time she was in Saudi Arabia, the author does a very nice job of exploring the real crisis of inflexible Saudi traditionalism when first really confronted with the demands of modernity -- the weird mix of naivete, arrogance, and fear. We can see the reverberations still.
Dated and Biased
I did not like this book very much. The author treats her subjects as if they were some sort of cockroach species under her idealistic American microscope.It is more accurate to say that this book is an account of how expatriates "survive" in KSA and not a true representation of the nation or its people. It is full of supercilious generalizations and patronizing commentary. It fully conforms to the biased view of Muslim nations presented in the Western media.I know many Saudis and they are nothing like the examples presented in this book. To the contrary, they are some of the most hospitable and genuine people I have come accross.If you want the "Fox News" version of Saudi, by all means read this book.

Her Saudi Arabia does not exist!!!
Being a Saudi Arabian woman, I was totally amazed by the false information in this book. I don't think the author should write a book about a country when she lived there for few months. She missinterpreted so many things that happen regularly in our culture. She should know that women in Saudi Arabia choose to cover up. They are not forced to do so. The same thing goes to Catholic nuns, who choose to cover up for the sake of God. I think she should have talked to more educated Saudi women who could explain things better. She may have lived in a village where the majority were uneducated (that was in 1970's) and women were less fortunate.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. General    3. History    4. Middle East - General    5. Middle East - Saudi Arabia    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Saudi Arabia    9. Saudi Arabia - History    10. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    11. History of specific racial & ethnic groups   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Foreign relations    3. History & Theory - General    4. International Relations - General    5. Middle East - Saudi Arabia    6. Opposition (Political science)    7. Political Science    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Saudi Arabia    12. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    13. Political Science / History & Theory    14. SAUDI ARABIA_ECONOMIC CONDITIONS    15. SAUDI ARABIA_FOREIGN RELATIONS    16. SAUDI ARABIA_POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT   

Subjects:  1. 1949-    2. Abodehman, Ahmed,    3. Asir (Saudi Arabia)    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Social life and customs    6. °Asåir (Saudi Arabia)    7. Abodehman, Ahmed    8. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (3)

Understanding Our differences
I found this book helpful in understanding the stereotypes and misunderstandings Arab and Western women have of each other. A must-read to really know who arab women are
I was amazed by this excellent book, that reveals what is usually hidden, or completely caricatured and falsely represented in the western media on arab women. The main discovery I have made was that far from being dominated and deshumanized, arab women (at least in Palestine and other arab countries) can undertake huge resonsabilities, organize their life and be far more independant as we would assume from a western point of view.The other very interesting point made by Suha Sabbagh is that the crtiticism and downlooking from western feminist over the "poor dominated" muslim women lacks complete understanding of a muslim society: these women actually benefits from an enlarged family solidarity network, and enjoy support and help from their relatives and neighbours - a situation that they are not ready to abandon for a freedom that would isolate them without any support. Because the state, in these country, does not provide all the help we -in our western countries- may ask for. loved it! so much info from another culture.amazing, scary
I knew the cultures were different, just never knew they were this different.I am anxious to read another book.Not because I love it, but because I am amazed at who can survive it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arab countries    2. Customs & Traditions    3. Feminism    4. Feminism & Feminist Theory    5. Gender Studies    6. General    7. History - General History    8. Islam - General    9. Muslim women    10. Social Science    11. Social conditions    12. Sociology    13. Sociology Of Women    14. Women    15. Women In Islam    16. Islam    17. Saudi Arabia    18. Women's studies   

Editorial Review

Shortly after terrorists led by Osama bin Laden attacked the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, President Bill Clinton ordered retaliatory missile strikes against targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. It was the first time the United States had responded to an individual terrorist with such overwhelming military force. Bin Laden, of course, is no run-of-the-mill rabble-rouser; Clinton called him "perhaps the preeminent organizer and financier of international terrorism in the world today." That's quite a label for someone who, as biographer Yossef Bodansky describes, "lives with his four wives and some fifteen children in a small cave in eastern Afghanistan" without running water. Yet he is "a principal player in a tangled and sinister web of terrorism-sponsoring states, intelligence chieftains, and master terrorists." Remarkably little is known about the man; as Bodansky reveals, even the year of bin Laden's birth is uncertain. This book, then, is more than the story of a single terrorist. It's a description of a whole movement waging a jihad--holy war--against the United States in the belief that America's modernizing influence on Arab nations thwarts Islamic fundamentalist goals. Read more

Reviews (87)

Bodansky and his "think tank" outhinking about everyone i've read.
Bodansky's books are to my opinion the BEST books written on middle east politics,at times you have to wonder where all the information comes from.Obviously he has contact with inside sources in the middle east,who know what is going on and he is not afraid to say what needs to be said about state sponsored terrorism and how it is cynically used without care or consideration for those whom it disastrously harms.At times you have to laugh at Bodansky's blunt style in assesing mideast politician and dictators motives and methods of operation.While you may have to disagree with some of Bodansky and his information sources you can't deny that even if he might be wrong at times,he's not far off at all.As a matter of fact like Dennis Hopper said of Kurtz in Apocolypse Now,"he may be crazy,but he may be right"!!I would finally say that someone has figured the mideast situation out enough to make sense of it,if that could ever be.I use Bodansky's books all the time when I see a news story on CNN and I have to know what Bodansky has to say about it.Read him cover to cover or use the back index for select topics either way "You Win"!!You're as close to an expert as you can come,now if you can just remember what you read and if you can find someone who'll listen to you,like Cassandra.As I read this book i became aware that Bin-Laden is just the tip of the iceberg on the troubled politics of the middle east.Bodansky obviously uses the Bin-laden sideshow as a forum to present even more alarming facts about state sponsored terrorism complete with their networks and multi-layers of deniability and financial sources. He offers solutions as well.

Only half on track
Anyone looking for an authoritative book on Bin Laden would do better to consult either of Peter Bergen's works, or Rohan Gunaratna.While many of the details in Bodansky's book are plausible, and even correspond with those of other authors, no footnotes are given throughout, and many details (such as Al Qaeda's possession of nuclear weapons) are highly suspect if not patently false.Bodansky portray's Bin Laden as largely a state-sponsored terrorist, and I think he fails utterly to show the grass roots genesis of Islamist resistance.In fact, most of the book isn't even on Bin Laden, save one chapter, and deals with background events of Islamist terrorism.Most damaging is Bodansky's failure to be transparent about his sources and convincing about his facts.A critical reader should suspect an agenda or ideological lens in this work that is absent from Bergen and Gunaratna.

Pre-9-11 Insight into Islamist Movement
Here is a book written before 9-11 which documents a connection between Saddam Hussein and bin Laden including their cooperative pursuit of WMD.But Iraq comes across as almost a reluctant participant in the Islamist movement, becoming involved out of desperation, believing that a U.S. invasion was certain.The movement is sponsored primarily by Iran, Pakistan and Sudan.The reader may then wonder why the U.S. invaded Iraq rather than these countries.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Current Affairs    4. History: World    5. International    6. Islam    7. Islam - General    8. Middle East - Saudi Arabia    9. Muslims    10. Political    11. Religious aspects    12. Saudi Arabia    13. Terrorism    14. Terrorists    15. 21st century    16. Afghanistan    17. Bin Laden, Osama    18. Biography: political    19. Current Events / General    20. Islamic studies    21. Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle    22. USA   

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Politics - Middle East    2. Ethnic Studies - General    3. History - General History    4. Middle East - Saudi Arabia    5. Politics and government    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Saudi Arabia    8. Arabian peninsula    9. Asian / Middle Eastern history    10. Social Science / Ethnic Studies   

Reviews (6)

A courageous book
"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck" - In a world too much dominated by the force of the petro-dollars, Laurent Murawiec brings us a very courageous and straight-forward reminder about the difference between democracy and totalitarism. Ethics in World politics may be seen as naive, but the history (Munich agreements) also shows us differently.
A convincing rant
The author lays out a great deal of densely-detailed information about the intertwining of extreme fundamentalist Islam, Saudi royal culture and arrogance, oil, politics, and influence-buying. He makes an effective, infuriating case for the incestuous relationship the House of Saud has with leaders -- male leaders -- of US government and corporations. Murawiec convincingly points out how badly that is going to bite us in our vulnerable national rump very soon, and that leading politicians from both parties have no investment in doing anything about the looming mess. (They have invested elsewhere, using money generously donated by the Sauds.)
A Factual, if passionately biased, analysis of Saudi Arabia
Mr. Murawiec's book is a detailed account of Saudi practices and policies.He names names; provides dates; and gives a blow by blow analysis of why the House of Saud, the ruling oligarchy of Saudi Arabia is an avowed enemy of the West and of the United States of America.
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Subjects:  1. Al Saud, House of    2. History    3. History: World    4. International Relations (General)    5. International Relations - General    6. Islam    7. Islamic fundamentalism    8. Kings and rulers    9. Middle East - General    10. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    11. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    12. Political Science (General)    13. Politics / Current Events    14. Politics and government    15. Religious aspects    16. Saudi Arabia    17. Terrorism    18. WahhÃ¥abÃ¥iyah    19. Asian / Middle Eastern history    20. International relations    21. Middle East    22. Non-Classifiable    23. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    24. Social Science / General   

Reviews (3)

Smooth read, but deceivingly biased.
This book examines the intertwined politics of Saudi Arabia and the United States as Hart witnessed it during the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s during his missions to the Arabian Peninsula. The two states at this time are actively seeking to develop diplomatic relations with the other; the United States eager to create a friend of the oil-giant, and Saudi Arabia anxiously viewing the politically and economically powerful U.S. as a vital ally in its development in the unstable Middle Eastern region as a young and suddenly rich state. While Hart writes the book as a narrative, the account is more skewed than it initially seems as becomes apparent in the chapters discussing Yemen. Consequently, assessing the book's accuracy becomes difficult as the narrative is tainted not only with the diplomatic bias of an embassy official, but also by the partiality of an influential politician who is examining an issue without an equivalent understanding of the social and political systems of the involved parties. This review will explore that concept as applied specifically to Hart's discussion of Yemen-related issues. Outstanding study of an important US strategic partnership.
Parker Hart was a career Foreign Service Officer who had a unique viewpoint on the history and strategic importance of Saudi Arabia as an ally of the United States.His knowledge of the people and customs of theMiddle East, his command of Arabic, and his genuine interest in people ofall countries made him the consumate diplomat.As US Ambassador to SaudiArabia during the critical Yemen crisis, Hart was the on-the-groundnegotiator who worked tirelessly to prevent the widening of a conflict withEgypt that could have resulted in a hot war between two importantcountries. Primary source for history U.S.-Saudi relations 1944-1995
With more than 50 years of a close relationship with the country and its rulers, "PT" Hart was the real expert on the subject. He backed his memories with exhaustive research in State Department records. Not thehistory of ARAMCO buta diplomat's diplomat description ofmen and eventsin a country celebrating its centennial (by the lunar calendar) by thefirst vice consul inDhahran in 1944 and Ambassador in the crisis years ofthe early 1960s. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1945-1989    2. 1989-    3. 20th century    4. Foreign relations    5. History    6. International Relations - General    7. Middle East - General    8. Middle East - Saudi Arabia    9. National security    10. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    11. Politics / Current Events    12. Politics/International Relations    13. Saudi Arabia    14. U.S. - Middle East Relations    15. United States    16. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    17. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    18. Diplomacy    19. Middle East    20. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000    21. Second World War, 1939-1945    22. USA   

Subjects:  1. History    2. History: World    3. Middle East - General    4. Railroads - History    5. Transportation    6. Asian / Middle Eastern history: from c 1900 -    7. First World War, 1914-1918    8. Saudi Arabia    9. Trains & railways: general interest    10. c 1900 - c 1914   

Reviews (2)

The best short book on this subject that I have seen
I have been a serious student of the history of western religions for 5 or 6 years, with emphasis on the beginnings and early years of Christianity in the context of the cultures,philosophies and religions of the time (Jewish, Greek, Roman, Persian etc.), and the subsequent development of the 6th-7th century world in which Islam arose and flourished.I have accumulated a sizable reference collection and thought I hadn't missed very much.But I just ran across Michael Cook's 'Muhammad', and it is the book I would recommend that any interested beginner read for a short account of Muhammed and the origins of Islam.Only 89 pages, it is especially good on the relationships between Islam and its Arabian cultural roots, and between Islam and Judaism & Christianity.The writing style is so clear and effective that it took my breath away more than once.Other reviewers here criticize it as an apology for Islam, as speculating things that are in dispute, and as not being the best source on this subject.The first says less about this book or about Islam than it does about the reviewer.The second is true but trivial - Cook is clear that he is speculating when he does and it is a strength of this book that he is willing to.From my extensive reading, there is nothing in his speculations that is unreasonable.On the third, there are other good introductory books such as Karen Armstrong's 'History of God' and 'Islam', but this is the best well-written short treatment I have seen.Cook wrote a short, clear book in part by leaving out all the "maybes" and "so-and-so doesn't agree with this theory" verbiage.If you want a longer, every question & detail covered, a struggle to get through, reference-style treatment, well, they're out there.That's not what this is.

A Man and His Times
This book is not a biography of Muhammad; the Prophet's life is covered only in Chapter 2.It is rather an account of Muhammad in his historial context, with emphasis on pre-Islamic Arabia, the traditions of monotheism, and the sources for early Islamic history on which it is based.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Christianity - History    4. Christianity - History - General    5. General    6. Islam - General    7. Muhammad    8. Muhammad,    9. Muslims    10. Muòhammad,    11. Prophet,    12. Religion - World Religions    13. Saudi Arabia    14. Social Science    15. Sociology    16. Sociology - General    17. d. 632    18. Islam    19. Religion & Theology | Islam    20. Religion / Islam