In the Shadow of the Sword In the Shadow of the Sword

In the Shadow of the Sword

The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire

    • 3.6 • 60 Ratings
    • $14.99
    • $14.99

Publisher Description

The acclaimed author of Rubicon and other superb works of popular history now produces a thrillingly panoramic (and incredibly timely) account of the rise of Islam.
 
No less significant than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement.  Just like the Romans, the Arabs came from nowhere to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion—except that they achieved their conquests not over the course of centuries as the Romans did but in a matter of decades. Just like the Greeks during the Persian wars, they overcame seemingly insuperable odds to emerge triumphant against the greatest empire of the day—not by standing on the defensive, however, but by hurling themselves against all who lay in their path.

GENRE
Religion & Spirituality
RELEASED
2012
May 15
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
544
Pages
PUBLISHER
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
32.3
MB

Customer Reviews

Eliseocab ,

Excellent history

Some people might not like the historical perspective but it is an objective account.

terra parka lucida ,

Rancid, racist history

I have never read such a rancid, acidic reading of history such as is found in this book. Mr. Holland distorts, overwrites, and simply skims over anything that lends any credence to the Islamo-Arab Empire as one of humanity's great civilizations. No reforms of the economy are to be found here, no scientific and technological achievements by Islamic scientists. Nothing. Islam in this book is iconoclastically defaced, and erased from human history. Pay no attention to the Arabs, those savages!

More Books by Tom Holland

Rubicon Rubicon
2004
Dynasty Dynasty
2015
Persian Fire Persian Fire
2006
Dominion Dominion
2019
The 12 Week Triathlete, 2nd Edition-Revised and Updated The 12 Week Triathlete, 2nd Edition-Revised and Updated
2011
The Marathon Method The Marathon Method
2007

Customers Also Bought

Lost to the West Lost to the West
2009
Carthage Must Be Destroyed Carthage Must Be Destroyed
2011
The Lion House The Lion House
2022
Iron Curtain Iron Curtain
2012
Revolution Revolution
2017
Saladin Saladin
2016