Pre-Islamic Arabia; Muhammad; External Power and Internal Division; The Umayyads; The ‘Ahb?sids; Islamic Society and Social-Religious Movements; Egypt under the F??imids and ??l?nids; The Arab West; The Horizon of Islam: Theology, Philosophy, Literature; ‘The Downfall of the Caliphate; The Latin States; Divisions in the Islamic World; Religious Reform and Berber Nationalism; Withdrawal and Mysticism at the end of the Caliphate
G. E. von Grunebaum
-This study of the history of Islam to the extinction of the
'Abbsid Caliphate by the Mongols, first published by Professor von
Grunebaum in German in 1963, should find many readers. As one of
the very few books which offer a concise and scholarly conspectus
of the first centuries of Islamic history, it will undoubtedly
appeal and be of value to those who are beginning work in this
field. It may be even more rewarding to those who already have some
backround of knowledge, and can thereby appreciate the
interpretative insights in which it abounds.- --P. M. Holt,
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London -A translation of the late G. E. von Grunebaum's work
Islam in Seiner klassischen Eposhe, published by the Artemis
Verlag, Zuerich, 1966... [A] useful addition is the extensive
bibliography of items mostly in English.- --James A. Bellamy,
Journal of the American Oriental Society -Neither the author nor
the book under review needs an introduction for the readers of this
journal. Gustave von Grunebaum was--or should we rather say,
is--the doyen of the -European- Islamists, his classical
publications are available in German. His Studien zun Kulturbild
und SelbsverstAndnis des Islams (artemis Verlag, 1969) is a special
gift to the German reader, and the German original of Classical
Islam has been in use as a textbook for a protracted period... I
purposefully deferred the writing of this review, in order to find
out how American students fare with this book. According to what I
have heard from them they would subscribe to the author's judgment:
-By her translation Mrs. Watson has somehow lightened the sternness
of the original-, I mean the readers have found that the English
version of the book makes easy reading... The illustrations are
judiciously chosen and enhance the gracefulness of the book. The
bibliography, partly provided by Stanford Shaw, adds much to its
usefulness.- --S. D. Goitein, Die Welt des Islams -Writing a
history of classical Islam is always a laborious and thankless
task. The historian who undertakes to reconstruct in a narrative
way any portion of early Islamic history from its vast and
scattered sources exposes himself to sure attacks... A modern
historian therefore has to use what R. G. Collingwood calls the
-scissors-and-paste- historical method, by which the historian
himself must make a personal judgment as to which reports are to be
taken as true accounts of history and which are to be considered
false... [I]n this book, translated from German by a capable
translator, the thoughts of the author are well-expressed. This
makes the book very stimulating and enjoyable to read.- --Wilson B.
Bishai, The American Historical Review
"This study of the history of Islam to the extinction of the
'Abbsid Caliphate by the Mongols, first published by Professor von
Grunebaum in German in 1963, should find many readers. As one of
the very few books which offer a concise and scholarly conspectus
of the first centuries of Islamic history, it will undoubtedly
appeal and be of value to those who are beginning work in this
field. It may be even more rewarding to those who already have some
backround of knowledge, and can thereby appreciate the
interpretative insights in which it abounds." --P. M. Holt,
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London "A translation of the late G. E. von Grunebaum's work
Islam in Seiner klassischen Eposhe, published by the Artemis
Verlag, Zuerich, 1966... [A] useful addition is the extensive
bibliography of items mostly in English." --James A. Bellamy,
Journal of the American Oriental Society "Neither the author nor
the book under review needs an introduction for the readers of this
journal. Gustave von Grunebaum was--or should we rather say,
is--the doyen of the "European" Islamists, his classical
publications are available in German. His Studien zun Kulturbild
und SelbsverstAndnis des Islams (artemis Verlag, 1969) is a special
gift to the German reader, and the German original of Classical
Islam has been in use as a textbook for a protracted period... I
purposefully deferred the writing of this review, in order to find
out how American students fare with this book. According to what I
have heard from them they would subscribe to the author's judgment:
"By her translation Mrs. Watson has somehow lightened the sternness
of the original," I mean the readers have found that the English
version of the book makes easy reading... The illustrations are
judiciously chosen and enhance the gracefulness of the book. The
bibliography, partly provided by Stanford Shaw, adds much to its
usefulness." --S. D. Goitein, Die Welt des Islams "Writing a
history of classical Islam is always a laborious and thankless
task. The historian who undertakes to reconstruct in a narrative
way any portion of early Islamic history from its vast and
scattered sources exposes himself to sure attacks... A modern
historian therefore has to use what R. G. Collingwood calls the
"scissors-and-paste" historical method, by which the historian
himself must make a personal judgment as to which reports are to be
taken as true accounts of history and which are to be considered
false... [I]n this book, translated from German by a capable
translator, the thoughts of the author are well-expressed. This
makes the book very stimulating and enjoyable to read." --Wilson B.
Bishai, The American Historical Review
"This study of the history of Islam to the extinction of the
'Abbsid Caliphate by the Mongols, first published by Professor von
Grunebaum in German in 1963, should find many readers. As one of
the very few books which offer a concise and scholarly conspectus
of the first centuries of Islamic history, it will undoubtedly
appeal and be of value to those who are beginning work in this
field. It may be even more rewarding to those who already have some
backround of knowledge, and can thereby appreciate the
interpretative insights in which it abounds." --P. M. Holt,
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London "A translation of the late G. E. von Grunebaum's work
Islam in Seiner klassischen Eposhe, published by the Artemis
Verlag, Zuerich, 1966... [A] useful addition is the extensive
bibliography of items mostly in English." --James A. Bellamy,
Journal of the American Oriental Society "Neither the author nor
the book under review needs an introduction for the readers of this
journal. Gustave von Grunebaum was--or should we rather say,
is--the doyen of the "European" Islamists, his classical
publications are available in German. His Studien zun Kulturbild
und SelbsverstAndnis des Islams (artemis Verlag, 1969) is a special
gift to the German reader, and the German original of Classical
Islam has been in use as a textbook for a protracted period... I
purposefully deferred the writing of this review, in order to find
out how American students fare with this book. According to what I
have heard from them they would subscribe to the author's judgment:
"By her translation Mrs. Watson has somehow lightened the sternness
of the original," I mean the readers have found that the English
version of the book makes easy reading... The illustrations are
judiciously chosen and enhance the gracefulness of the book. The
bibliography, partly provided by Stanford Shaw, adds much to its
usefulness." --S. D. Goitein, Die Welt des Islams "Writing a
history of classical Islam is always a laborious and thankless
task. The historian who undertakes to reconstruct in a narrative
way any portion of early Islamic history from its vast and
scattered sources exposes himself to sure attacks... A modern
historian therefore has to use what R. G. Collingwood calls the
"scissors-and-paste" historical method, by which the historian
himself must make a personal judgment as to which reports are to be
taken as true accounts of history and which are to be considered
false... [I]n this book, translated from German by a capable
translator, the thoughts of the author are well-expressed. This
makes the book very stimulating and enjoyable to read." --Wilson B.
Bishai, The American Historical Review
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