Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael H. Morgan
Publisher: National Geographic
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 114059
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 1426202806
Dewey Decimal Number: 956
EAN: 9781426202803
ASIN: 1426202806
Publication Date: June 17, 2008
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Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
In an era when the relationship between Islam and the West seems mainly defined by mistrust and misunderstanding, it is important to remember that for centuries Muslim civilization was the envy of the world. Lost History fills a significant void and is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the major the early Muslims played in influencing modern society.
Morgan reveals how early Muslim advancements in science and culture laid the cornerstones of the European Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and modern Western society. As he chronicles the Golden Ages of Islam, beginning in A.D. 570 with the birth of Muhammad, and resonating today, he introduces scholars like Ibn Al-Haytham, Ibn Sina, Al-Tusi, Al-Khwarizmi, and Omar Khayyam, towering figures who revolutionized the mathematics, astronomy, and medicine of their time and paved the way for Newton, Copernicus, and many others. And he reminds us that inspired leaders from Muhammad to Suleiman the Magnificent and beyond championed religious tolerance, encouraged intellectual inquiry, and sponsored artistic, architectural, and literary works that still dazzle us with their brilliance. Lost History finally affords pioneering leaders with the proper credit and respect they so richly deserve.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Excellent Book July 7, 2008
Angry Brown Guy (Edison, NJ)
I had to read this for my class in College and didn't think it would be good but it does a great job talking about the history as well as comparing it to recent times. Certainly made the class much more enjoyable having to reference a good book such as this time.
 not recommended June 30, 2008
Frances A. Lamielle (Michigan. USA)
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
I was extremely disappointed in this book because of it's lack of sophistication. The author seemed to feel the need to write in a fictitious style and in the present tense. This book is intended for people with very little or no background in history or Islamic civilization. It is not at all academic and it is VERY easy to read.
Should be taught in Schools May 9, 2008
Mishal Kanoo (Dubai, UAE)
Without a doubt one of the best books I have read in years. No only does it shed light over the civilization that brought the world great minds who enlightened us with new ideas but the book also sheds light on the largely blind mind of the Western reader about the people who are now sadly labeled terrorist by default.
Lost History January 29, 2008
Roger L. Putnam Jr. (Wellfleet MA USA)
2 out of 22 found this review helpful
This is amateur history, written by an amateur. Try reading several centuries of yellow pages, and you get the texture of this opus. Unorganized, with supposedly intriguing vignettes setting the pace. The best you can hope for is that the paper is biodegradable.
Roger L. Putnam, Jr.
A Rare Find November 16, 2007
R. Elghonimi (TX USA)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Like finding a precious gem in the middle of a pile of debris, I consider this book as much of a rare find in this age. Truly honest and well-researched, it compiles a mind-bewildering amount of detail and information about everything from Islamic history to scientific advancements of the Middle Ages through political conditions of pre-modern Europe. It is written in such a fluid, eloquent style that Morgan has become one of my favorite authors, and I hope to find more of his work.
I have researched the history of development of the arts and letters and science informally and will start to pursue it academically, so I can say about this work that it is as concise and comprehensive a compilation as any I have come across. George Sarton, a Harvard professor of the 1940's, has written 5 volumes on this subject, and yet, Morgan's analysis is more insightful. For instance, Sarton notes the ethnicity behind each and every Muslim scholar or scientist of other faith in the Islamic world who accomplished a great feat. Was he an Arab or a Persian or a Christian or a Jew? Sarton asks of each, in trying to establish that in many instances Jewish or Christian or non-Arab scholars achieved success on their own, thereby downplaying the significance of the Islamic Renaissance as a whole. Morgan makes the point that multi-ethnicity was exactly the source of the Islamic civilization's success: the multiplicity of people of faiths who lived harmoniously and collaborated on projects of translation and learning was a mark of the Muslim golden age's tolerance and pluralism.
So while other historians emphasize the Muslim's material accomplishments in medieval times, they miss the Islamic contribution of tolerance and peace. Morgan does not. From p. 136 of Lost History: "By the ninth and tenth centuries, the Jewish intellectual communities and economies of Muslim Spain, in cities like Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo, are at their peak. Not only have Jews risen to hold the second highest political position in the realm, under Hasdai ibn Shaprut working for Caliph Abd Al-Rahman III; they are also producing their own rich literature, music, philosophy, and scientific thought, sometimes independently, sometimes in collaboration with those of other faiths."
Morgan's precision in unfolding the history of the Muslims from one era to another and from one glorious center of learning to another (Baghdad to Cordoba, or Damascus to Cairo) does not lose the reader or leave him/her bogged down in dates. His narration flows effortlessly and takes you on an awe-inspiring ride. Though one reviewer noted that Morgan over-reaches when he tries to write of scholars' past thoughts (such as Ibn Sina), I think he is using a fictive element (3rd person omniscient) for a good reason. He is trying to evoke a recognition in the Western mind of what another culture has experienced. It is just one technique he uses in making us understand another peoples by walking in their shoes. He is a literary genius, and I cannot hold him to task for employing every means to bridge these two (currently) very remote cultures.
I hope there are other gems in the making, such as this one. It is a pleasure to read a work that is so humble and honest that it can give credit where ever it is due - even to other cultures or civilizations - rather than downplaying their historic importance.
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