Did Muslims and Jews in the Middle Ages cohabit in a peaceful "interfaith utopia"? Or were Jews under Muslim rule persecuted; much as they were in Christian lands? Rejecting both polemically charged ideas as myths; Mark Cohen offers a systematic comparison of Jewish life in medieval Islam and Christendom--and the first in-depth explanation of why medieval Islamic-Jewish relations; though not utopic; were less confrontational and violent than those between Christians and Jews in the West.Under Crescent and Cross has been translated into Turkish; Hebrew; German; Arabic; French; and Spanish; and its historic message continues to be relevant across continents and time. This updated edition; which contains an important new introduction and afterword by the author; serves as a great companion to the original.
#1491861 in Books Hope M Harrison 2005-08-14 2005-08-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.13 x .92 x 6.14l; 1.22 #File Name: 0691124280368 pagesDriving the Soviets up the Wall Soviet East German Relations 1953 1961
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. history to the lifeBy Dabà SánchezThis is a stunning; path-breaking work. Harrison; it seems; has done the work of three historians at once. The historical issue is rendered with utmost clarity: East German leader Walter Ulbricht; in an effort to protect his own regime; effectively goaded the mercurial Khrushchev into a tougher policy vis-à -vis the West over Berlin. The book's real accomplishment is to recreate the élan of the time. This is an unusual gift which can sometimes strike with academic historians. The reader may rest assured that Harrison has got the gift. Nowadays; the politically-correct view of the Cold War is that it was a figment of America's reactionary imagination. Harrison doesn't bother to; doesn't need to; refute this idea. She merely does what the historian does best. And then; quite suddenly; you are in the midst of the events themselves. It's a trip well worth taking.
