Destiny Disrupted
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.60
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.60, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Ansary has written an informative and thoroughly engaging look at the past, present and future of Islam. With his seamless and charming prose, he challenges conventional wisdom and appeals for a fuller understanding of how Islam and the world at large have shaped each other. And that makes this book, in this uneasy, contentious post 9/11 world, a must-read." -- Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns "I'm in the middle of Tamim Ansary's Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes, and it's incredibly illuminating. Ansary pretty much covers the entire history of Islam in an incredibly readable and lucid way. I've been recommending this book to everyone I know. Especially when people are looking for a comprehensive-but-approachable way to look at world history through the lens of Islam, there's no better book." Dave Eggers"
Product Description
This is a gripping drama that pulls the reader into great, seminal events of world history, and a book which offers a wealth of knowledge and insight to any reader who wants to understand the movements and events behind the modern-day hostilities wracking Western and Islamic societies. We in the west share a common narrative of world history that runs from the Nile Valley and Mesopotomia, through Greece and Rome and the French Revolution, to the rise of the secular state and the triumph of democracy. But our story largely omits a whole civilisation that until quite recently saw itself at the centre of world history, and whose citizens shared an entirely different narrative for a thousand years. In "Destiny Disrupted", Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as the Islamic world saw it, from the time of Mohammed to the fall of the Ottoman Empire to 9/11, introducing the people, events, empires, legends, religious disputes, and key turning points not only in terms of what happened, but in terms of how what happened was understood and interpreted. He clarifies why our civilisations grew up oblivious to each other, what happened when they intersected, and how the Islamic world was affected by its slow recognition that Europe-a place it long perceived as primitive and disorganised-had somehow hijacked destiny. With storytelling brio and evenhanded sympathy to all sides of the story, Ansary clarifies how the Muslim world, sees the history of the world, and what they therefore make of our own version of events. By enlightening western readers to that parallel 'other' narrative to the chapter we are living in today, "Disrupted Destiny" offers a vital perspective on the world conflicts many now find so puzzling.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I enjoyed this book, although as I went on I found the author's light and folksy style starting to wear a bit thin at times. The book is very easy to read but the author has either picked up, or deliberately adopted, a middle-America tone to his writing since arriving in the States from Afghanistan. We get phrases like "he was just that kind of guy" and "...but wait, as they say on late night TV commercials, that's not all...". There is also regular use of dialogue which for the most part clearly cannot come from direct reporting. It all serves to make the book feel friendly and approachable, but possibly at the expense of intellectual rigour. Still, it is a perfectly enjoyable read (for the most part).
I'm nowhere near even thinly read on this subject, in fact I last gave the Crusades serious attention nearly thirty years ago in the sixth form (and then obviously from an exclusively western perspective), I've heard a couple of In Our Time's on Islamic subjects and my understanding of contemporary issues in the middle east is about the same as any other Radio 4 listening broadsheet reader. So, given that, I'm in no position to judge the accuracy of the author's history but on issues where politics often clouds fair and accurate historical judgement (eg, the Crusades, Suez, Israel/Palestine, and the world post-9/11) the book is scrupulously balanced and fair minded.
In any book that covers such a vast topic and period there is inevitable glossing over and simplification but, given the limitations of any "big picture" history book for non-academic readers, I recommend this and an interesting and worthwhile read.
I'm nowhere near even thinly read on this subject, in fact I last gave the Crusades serious attention nearly thirty years ago in the sixth form (and then obviously from an exclusively western perspective), I've heard a couple of In Our Time's on Islamic subjects and my understanding of contemporary issues in the middle east is about the same as any other Radio 4 listening broadsheet reader. So, given that, I'm in no position to judge the accuracy of the author's history but on issues where politics often clouds fair and accurate historical judgement (eg, the Crusades, Suez, Israel/Palestine, and the world post-9/11) the book is scrupulously balanced and fair minded.
In any book that covers such a vast topic and period there is inevitable glossing over and simplification but, given the limitations of any "big picture" history book for non-academic readers, I recommend this and an interesting and worthwhile read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Well, for those interested in Islam this would be a good place to start.
The book is very well written (though sometimes in too much of an American way and style - as another reviewer pointed out, and flows from one chapter to the next and is pretty much chronological in order.
it basically quashes the entire history of the religion of Islam into 416 pages, which is a pretty cheeky attempt - but it succeeds in many ways, especially for those with an interest and those who don't want any heavy going academic type of read but want it basically told as a Tale of sorts in layman terms.
This is also its downfall in many ways, there are some historical inaccuracies, and it's obviously biased towards the authors thoughts, belief and knowledge and someone looking for a more in depth historical account should look elsewhere.
All in all, worth reading for those who have an interest or are curious about the religion of Islam and its history.
The book is very well written (though sometimes in too much of an American way and style - as another reviewer pointed out, and flows from one chapter to the next and is pretty much chronological in order.
it basically quashes the entire history of the religion of Islam into 416 pages, which is a pretty cheeky attempt - but it succeeds in many ways, especially for those with an interest and those who don't want any heavy going academic type of read but want it basically told as a Tale of sorts in layman terms.
This is also its downfall in many ways, there are some historical inaccuracies, and it's obviously biased towards the authors thoughts, belief and knowledge and someone looking for a more in depth historical account should look elsewhere.
All in all, worth reading for those who have an interest or are curious about the religion of Islam and its history.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
There is unlikely to be a more apt time for a book like this to be read. The stereotyping of Islam and therefore Muslims with the various wars going on around the world that seem be dividing 'the west' and Islam have all created many assumptions about Islam.
What this book does very thoroughly is explore the political and culture background within which Islam arose. It explains in simple terms Islamic beliefs, how some of them arose, how the prophets tried to preserve the memory of the Prophet to fill in where the Qu'ran wasn't clear and so on.
The book traces the spread of Islam and its metamorphosis across the globe, its interactions with the west and even with its own secular modernists.
A fascinating read for those who wish to broaden their understanding beyond simply what they see or hear on the TV or by reading Daily Mail!
And a definite must for any historian.
Hope that helps.
What this book does very thoroughly is explore the political and culture background within which Islam arose. It explains in simple terms Islamic beliefs, how some of them arose, how the prophets tried to preserve the memory of the Prophet to fill in where the Qu'ran wasn't clear and so on.
The book traces the spread of Islam and its metamorphosis across the globe, its interactions with the west and even with its own secular modernists.
A fascinating read for those who wish to broaden their understanding beyond simply what they see or hear on the TV or by reading Daily Mail!
And a definite must for any historian.
Hope that helps.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tolerance begins with better education...
My personal view is that we could all get along much better if we didn't resort to stereotyping and assumption. Read more
Published 2 months ago by K. Jamison
excellent! excellent! excellent!
this is one of the very few works that has made me look at what i thought i knew through a different perspective. suddenly it all makes sense! Read more
Published 4 months ago by steppes
Perfect introduction to the history of Islam
A truly superb and immensely readable introduction to the history of Islam. The author's writing style is relaxed and occasionally humorous, which makes it a joy to read and easy... Read more
Published 8 months ago by kingg
Refreshing Take on History and Islam
I chose this book for my father, who loves history and has a particular interest in Islamic culture. He reports that it was truly an eye opening book. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Dawson
Excellent Introduction to the Islamic World
This book has an avowed purpose; in the introduction, author Tamim Ansary admits that one of the reasons for the book is the questions raised by 9/11. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. Gtj Charmley
Brief overview of Islamic history
This book gives a brief history of the Islamic world, concentrating on the philosophies that underpin the religion rather than a straightforward history of what has occurred. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Sussex by the Sea
An Eye-Opener
Like so many people, I often happily expounded views about the Muslim religion, but what I actually knew about Islam could have been written on the back of a postcard. Read more
Published 15 months ago by The Man from the Ministry
Thoroughly fascinating
I am only just getting into this book but already it has me gripped. It is an intereseting perspective on an area of the world I am not familiar with. Read more
Published 15 months ago by jcrpage
Engaging and Enticing
In a world where history is predominantly told from a Western - particularly European - view point, this book aims to explore the equally fascinating parallel development of (as... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Book Gannet
Absolutely excellent - an inspiring read
I loved this book , not only for what it told me but how it did it - i a clearm lucid style that just dragged you into the story - and nake no mistake this is a rivetting... Read more
Published 17 months ago by A. J. Sudworth
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
