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Title: The Middle East by Bernard Lewis ISBN: 0-684-83280-1 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 07 August, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.78 (32 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great historical summary of ME
Comment: Countering some of the past reviews of this work, I am giving it high praise. I found this book remarkable. True, it is a lot of time to fit into some 400 pages, and it does contain a great amount of detail, but those with a modicum of background on Middle Eastern and Islamic civilization, I think will find this a very good book. Lewis is a serious and intelligent scholar, and it is obvious that his knowledge is vast in its breadth.
It is broken into four parts: Foundations, Early Islam, Cross-Sections, and the Challenge of Modernity. I have seen that many criticize the disruption to the flow of the work that the Cross-Sections represents, which focuses on things like culture, state, religion and law, etc. But I disagree. If one thing is clear it is that there is a clear break in Islamic civilization between its past glory and its present malaise. Lewis objectively examines this in a very factual and fair manner. The last section, which talks about Challenge, Change, War, etc. is really the story of how and why Islamic civilization declined relative to Europe after having experienced such great power and wealth. Also, the Cross-Sections offers a glimpse into the personal history of the region. It's focus on the internal structures and constructs of society is a great counter-balance to the history of conquests and defeats, the official 'history' which is really always about the ruling elite.
Lewis carefully describes the environment prior to the coming of Islam, the condition of Byzantium, and the environment of Arabia before Muhammad. A nomadic, tribal civilization, within 100 years, had been transformed into a vast Empire stretching from India to Spain, patronizing the arts, building breathtaking mosques, and learning the classical history of the West! That in itself is a respectable accomplishment. At its early ages, Islam was far more tolerant than Christianity; Muslims generally did not force the conversion of Christians and Jews (although they did to other peoples at times) and so-called 'heretical' Christians received much better treatment than under the orthodox nature of the Byzantine state. The also were freer to acquire land and use it to better their livelihood.
Islam took root at the center of the Old World. Largely due to this, they were continually threatened on the west by Europe and on the south and east by Turks and Mongols. This was bound to cause trouble of course, but the Islamic tradition proved powerful enough to convert the pagan conquerors; within 100 years, the Mongols were Muslims. Chaos and uncertainty of course occurred, but it proved transitory.
A complete account of what life was actually like for Muslims of the time is contained in the Cross-Sections. You will read about the great age of Arabic love poetry, the brilliant accomplishments in architecture and science, the practical implications of the split between Sunni and Shiite. And most interestingly, for myself, the emergence of the Sufi mystical tradition, which had popular appeal among the commonality. A mystical, ecstatic tradition, it sought closeness with the unity of God through personal transcendent experience. The tradition combined aspects of older religions, Christianity, central Asian shamanism, Egyptian rituals, for example. Brotherhoods of Sufi dervishes were to become very important, particularly in the Ottoman Empire.
The final section deals with the decline of the Middle East. Economic decline was accompanied by border conflicts for both the Ottomans and the Iranian Safavids, as both Russia and Europe began rising militarily and conquering strategic lands very valuable for their resources and/or access to international trading routes. The rise of nationalism, an import from Europe, proved unmanageable for the Ottoman Empire and disintegration of the peoples inevitably followed. The resources required for true industrialization were not in as great numbers as in Europe nor were they effectively utilized. Also, in companionship with the late Roman Empire, a qualitative decrease in the military ability of the Janissaries and reduced discipline led to a pattern of military defeat. The death knell, of course was WW1. Due to historical accidents, the Ottoman Empire became aligned with Germany. When Germany lost, so did the Ottoman Empire and Britain and France carved nations out of the fallen empire, and the struggle to adapt to that idea continues to this day. But, things are changing for the better. At the time of this writing there are many positive signals of democratic reform coming from Iran; more power to the Iranians.
This book may be a bit dense, but it's very good. I have read several sections a couple of times.
Rating: 2
Summary: Not a good book for begining students of Middle East history
Comment: This is the first book I've read from this author. I wanted to learn more about Middle East history and based my decision to start with this book on rave editorial reviews. After slogging through this book, I realized that many of the reviewers already have knowledge of the Middle East and experience with this author. Basically, Lewis tried to cram 2,000 years of Middle East history into 387 pages of medium print (not fine print). Like another customer reviewer said, I can't remember much historical detail and virtually nothing about the leaders of various periods. There was just too much history presented and not enough depth to make it stick. In addition, I struggled to form some cohesive "big picture" of the historical development of the Middle East and how that shaped current Middle East culture/religion. I can understand the historical perspective and cultural meaning of an event in European history by first establishing that the event occurred during the "dark ages," or the "renaissance," etc. This book did not help me develop that kind of perspective about Middle East history.
Rating: 4
Summary: Fine, readable overview
Comment: I've recently had the pleasure of reading another Bernard Lewis work. The Middle East is his sweeping overview of that troubled region. Readers of his other books, such as What Went Wrong or Crisis of Islam will recognize some familiar discussions in here, but Lewis also gives a broader history, followed by a series of topical chapters about aspects of Middle Eastern life. I'd thought that this was more of a narrative history, which it isn't, but was still satisfied with what I received.
Some features I particularly enjoyed were his discussion on Ottoman and Modern eras (his specialty is Ottoman history, so this is no surprise), and his discussion of contemporary issues, even if these last overlap some of Crisis of Islam. As usual, Lewis writes in a lucid and familiar style, and the text is a pleasure.
As usual, I feel the need to address some issues that seem to surround Bernard Lewis's books. I won't launch an attack here on the parties responsible, but it gets clearer to me with each Lewis book I read that he is a fan of Middle Eastern History, and though he can go on at great length about why and how it has fallen from its Medieval heights, he does not consider this a joyous thing worthy of celebrating. Perhaps some people don't like even having Lewis or others point out that there are problems in the Middle East. I suspect, from the tone and content of this and other books, that Lewis would be happy to see the countries of the Middle East solve their many problems. So, for a good, detailed, honest, and Respectful discussion of Middle Eastern history and culture, this book is a fine choice.
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Title: What Went Wrong? : The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East by Bernard Lewis ISBN: 0060516054 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis ISBN: 0679642811 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 25 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Islam and the West by Bernard Lewis ISBN: 0195090616 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: October, 1994 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin ISBN: 0805068848 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: The Arabs in History by Bernard Lewis ISBN: 0192803107 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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