All copies of this title, including those transferred to portable devices and other media, must be deleted/destroyed at the end of the lending period.
Description
For many centuries, the world of Islam was at the forefront of human achievement - the foremost military and economic power in the world, the leader in the arts and sciences of civilization. Christian Europe, a remote land beyond its northwestern frontier, was seen as an outer darkness of barbarism and unbelief from which there was nothing to learn or to fear. And then everything changed, as the previously despised West won victory after victory, first on the battlefield and in the marketplace, then in almost every aspect of public and even private life. In this intriguing volume, Bernard Lewis examines the anguished reaction of the Islamic world as it tried to understand why things had changed, how they had been overtaken, overshadowed, and to an increasing extent dominated by the West.
Ironically, this work was about to go to press when the events of 9/11 occurred. Lewis, an emeritus professor at Princeton University and a respected scholar of Islam, presents a view of the world as the Moslems see it, but with a twist : He presents their attempt to comprehend why Islam fell from its position of preeminence and came under the domination of the West. Presenting facts that may make some Moslem apologists uncomfortable, this work will make what is happening with radical Islam more understandable. John Lee performs this academic work without flaw. His British accent speaks with understated authority, rolling out phrases clearly and with a winsome rhythm. Surprisingly, this production is hard to stop once begun. M.T.F. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
