tough read, but well worth it ( )

The subject sounded promising, but the actual result was a boring, detailed account. The historical view was wound up like a boring college history lesson; unfamiliar names and places with zero motivation to listen. Perhaps better to read than to listen to. The author reads like a prepared speech and speaks very fast with a British accent devoid of the letter "R". Not my kind of book. DNF. ( )

(I wonder how this compares to Karen Armstrong's [b:Islam: A Short History|27306|Islam A Short History|Karen Armstrong|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403181902s/27306.jpg|131885] in terms of actually presenting Islam fairly? Will have to read it...)

(I wonder how this compares to Karen Armstrong's [b:Islam: A Short History|27306|Islam A Short History|Karen Armstrong|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403181902s/27306.jpg|131885] in terms of actually presenting Islam fairly? Will have to read it...)

Interesting. ( )

Seemingly well-intended but hugely inaccurate understanding of the Muslim world-view(s). Though you may benefit from this book in some way, you will be farther from understanding the Muslim world as it really is. ( )

Yet another book on the threat posed by fundamentalists and this one ends with this ominous warning "If the fundamentalists are correct in their calculations and succeed in their war, then a dark future awaits the world".

Yet another book on the threat posed by fundamentalists and this one ends with this ominous warning "If the fundamentalists are correct in their calculations and succeed in their war, then a dark future awaits the world".

This work takes an excessively academic and abstract view of war and violence in the Middle East - leaving a feeling of lots of research with little substance. The historical discussion is well done, but the reader isn't really left with any true lessons or morals to take away at the end of the work. The last chapter is particularly frustrating, and seems more of a rationale for invasion than anything else. ( )

perhaps better to read than to listen to. the author reads like a speech and speaks very fast. ( )

In this slim volume Lewis artfully explains the complexity of Islam in brief but understandable terms. The work would be a useful introduction for anyone seeking to learn reliably and usefully how to explain the Islamic holy war against the West. It is superseded by many more comprehensive works but Lewis does not claim to go beyond the introductory in this short work. Lewis is on less sure ground, and more controversial on his political and diplomatic points but I do not see him straying from an accurate and factual account of Islam regardless of what his critics argue.

A book club selection. I read much of it, but also listened to a reading of it by the author. If you want to begin to understand Islam and the modern world, this is an excellent start. It is so clearly written. Fascinating, yet unsettleing. I still like Thomas Friedman's from "Beruit to Jerusalem" the best, even though it may be somewhat dated by now. ( )

An excellent summary of the curent state of the Islamic mindset. What they are thinking, and what lead to that. Useful cultural interpretation of the environment out of which today's terrorists originate. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I see that it has gotten mixed reviews. I was looking for something to give me some background and reasoning behind the fundamentalist Islamic terrorists we see today, and this book did a good job. I have read other books on the subject as well, and Lewis gives a fair background without going into extraordinary detail. I did not feel that he was making excuses for the terrorists, but rather saying, "This is the history that they are idolizing- right or wrong." What I found most interesting is the belief that the Muslims were superior during the middle ages to the point that they refused to learn from other civilizations, which became their downfall. ( )

Used to respect Lewis in my student days when I had him in one of my classes but no longer. He seems to be making excuses for the radicals now. ( )

Audio read by the author.
Very interesting. Written by the Princeton University Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies, this book is a great extension to Armstrong’s book about Islam. It examines the history of Islam and Middle Eastern countries from the perspective of Eastern Western relationships. It pays particular attention to the twentieth century and the establishment of such countries as Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, but charts the history of the region from 8th century onwards.
Lewis draws our attention to the fact that while the hostility towards the European West has deep roots in the Islamic world due to the Western colonization, the hostility towards the United States is a new phenomenon which started only after the downfall of the Soviet Union, seen as an Eastern ally and counter-balance to the West. He also points out that the phenomenon of suicide bombers is new and without precedent, since even the ‘assassins’ never committed suicide. ( )

Very disappointing.
Bernard Lewis is interesting when he sticks to history, but this is very little history and mostly political opinion. ( )

Excellent work. Get the audiobook; he reads it himself. Oakes is wrong. ( )

Bigoted; fraudulent; dangerous; wrong. ( )