Islam has been one of the most powerful religious; social and political forces in history. Over the last 1400 years; from origins in Arabia; a succession of Muslim polities and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France to East Africa and South East Asia.Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers; scientists and theologians; not to mention rulers; statesmen and soldiers; have been occluded. This book rescues from oblivion and neglect some of these personalities and institutions while offering the reader a new narrative of this lost Islamic history. The Umayyads; Abbasids; and Ottomans feature in the story; as do Muslim Spain; the savannah kingdoms of West Africa and the Mughal Empire; along with the later European colonization of Muslim lands and the development of modern nation-states in the Muslim world. Throughout; the impact of Islamic belief on scientific advancement; social structures; and cultural development is given due prominence; and the text is complemented by portraits of key personalities; inventions and little known historical nuggets. The history of Islam and of the world's Muslims brings together diverse peoples; geographies and states; all interwoven into one narrative that begins with Muhammad and continues to this day.
#1835621 in Books 2015-03-19Original language:English 11.50 x .20 x 8.50l; .0 #File Name: 184832127964 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A lot of bang for not too many bucks.By Keith BickelPeriod photos; a fairly complete basic history of these 13 ships in 3 subclasses; a listing pictures of most available models accessories; color profiles; more is what you get on 64 pages of stout glossy paper. Not being much of a ship modeler; I can still appreciate the work involved as well as the very nicely done finished products shown here.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great book; but can hardly be considered an in ...By Geir J.Great book; but can hardly be considered an in depth review in the traditional sense; but contains the most appropriate information. But this book is of great value for model builder and providing the more than just basic information about the class. Great color side views drawings of the cruisers. I would definitely recommend this book for those who don't have the need to know how many rivets were used etc :-)2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. County Class CrusiersBy K.SchneiderLes Brown has producted another great book on a single class of ship...The County Class Crusiers built under the Washington Treaty is an excellent book there is alot of photo's tech and drawings packed into 64 pages....For the model maker it is perfect...for the naval historian and excellent referance...