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

    • 3.7 • 65 Ratings
    • $8.99

Publisher Description

A thrillingly panoramic historical account of the rise of Islam, hailed as “a veritable tour de force” (The Wall Street Journal), from the acclaimed author of Rubicon and co-host of the hit podcast The Rest Is History

“Accessible but delightful . . . as fun to read as any thriller, and with far richer intellectual nutritional content.”—The Daily Beast

Written with verve and panache, In the Shadow of the Sword recounts the history of how the ancient world came to an end and how a new power, Islam, arose. In a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement, Tom Holland describes how the Arabs emerged to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion in a matter of decades, overcoming seemingly insuperable odds to create an imperial civilization, aspects of which endure to the present day. With profound implications for the most consequential events of our time, Holland bears witness to the abiding impact of this extraordinary, convulsive age.

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!

Rubicon Rubicon
2005
Dynasty Dynasty
2015
Dominion Dominion
2019
Persian Fire Persian Fire
2006
The Histories The Histories
2014
The Lives of the Caesars The Lives of the Caesars
2025
Lost to the West Lost to the West
2009
The Lion House The Lion House
2022
Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome
2009
Carthage Must Be Destroyed Carthage Must Be Destroyed
2011
Byzantium Byzantium
2009
Iron Curtain Iron Curtain
2012