The Prophet Muhammad brought his vision of the word of God to the Arabs; and within a generation of his death; his followers--as vivid a cast of heroic individuals as history has known--had exploded out of Arabia to confront the two great superpowers of the seventh century and establish Islam and with it a new civilization. The Heirs of Muhammad is a swaggering saga of ambition; achievement; self-sacrificing nobility and blood rivalry. In it; acclaimed historian Barnaby Rogerson recounts the lives of the handful of individuals--the first four Caliphs; the Prophet's widows and the conquering generals--who led and influenced Islam after the death of Muhammad. Within the fifty-year span of conquest and empire-building; Rogerson identifies the seeds of discord that destroyed the unity of Islam and traces the roots of the schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims to the rivalry of the two people who best knew and loved the Prophet: his cousin and son-in-law Ali and his wife Aisha. The Heirs of Muhammad is the best kind of history--the kind that brings a forgotten era back to life while simultaneously illuminating a neglected history that is vital to an enlightened understanding of our present world.
#1268615 in Books 2015-03-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.10 x .60 x 6.10l; .0 #File Name: 1588383121128 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Zachg76Very nice historical book0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Richard HarrisonGreat Book3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A gem for anyone drawn to Civil War history and to the war's continuing fallout after 150 yearsBy Si DunnThe Civil War ended 150 years ago. Yet; it remains alive in many aspects of American culture and politics.For those of us who grew up in the South in the 1940s and 1950s; it was not uncommon to have elderly relatives who had been small children during the war and who still remembered some of the conflict and how it affected their families. It also was not uncommon to hear the war described as if the South had not been defeated. (Indeed; my elementary school was named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee; and I attended infamous Little Rock Central High at the time when it was forced to re-open and admit black students under the protection of paratroopers sent by President Eisenhower).Journey to the Wilderness is structured around an intimate; engrossing collection of Civil War-era letters. They were written by some of Frye Gaillard’s ancestors; including his great-great-grandfather; Thomas Gaillard; and Thomas’s sons; Franklin Gaillard and Richebourg Gaillard; both of whom were officers in the Confederate army.The letters eloquently capture the high hopes of Southerners as the long fight begins. Then the grim realities of mid-19th-century warfare begin to hit home. As the war stretches out; some of the Gaillards’ letters from the front lines continue to praise the gallantries of Southern infantry and artillery batteries; even in defeat; while condemning the apparent ineffectiveness of Southern cavalry units in certain battles.At the same time; the two Confederate officers spare few details when describing deaths and injuries witnessed during combat; in such notable battles as Shiloh; Gettysburg and Sharpsburg.The family letters in his book; Frye Gaillard writes; “help paint a portrait of a horrifying time in American history; a time when 622;000 soldiers died on American soil; and when the southern half of the nation–so righteous and defiant when the conflict began–experienced a loss that was measured not only in blood but also in what one of my ancestors called the ‘cruelty and humiliation’ of defeat.â€Frye Gaillard also devotes part of his important book to his own “reflections on war and memory–on how the past lives on in the present; and how it draws us; slowly if we let it; in the painful direction of a more honest truth.â€For anyone drawn to Civil War history and to the conflict’s continuing ramifications; this book is a gem to seek out and read.(Special thanks to NewSouth Books for providing a review copy.)
