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Summary: I'm not a Muslim but I can recognize bias.
Review: I lived for years in the Middle East and after reading this book I can tell you that this "historian" comes with an agenda. It may be his jewish cultural background or whatever, but he only seems to have a cursory and simplistic understanding of Islam and Muslim thought. Of course saying that some Muslims could care less about "The West" or Israel and just want to be left in peace would not sell many books.Take it from someone that has been there. Most people in the Middle East are no different from you given similar circumstances.
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Summary: Whatever!!!!
Review: The contents of this book are extremely offensive. I'm a muslim and from my point of view this book is biased. Lewis generalizes way too much. Sure there are some muslim extremist but what religion doesn't come with it's share of bad apples? If Islam is so "evil" and whatnot then how come even today you find old churches from way back in muslim countries yet in christian or jewish countries you only find ruins of what was once mosques? It's because Islam is a tolerant religion, and always has been, that's why. Again, what religion doesn't come with it's share of fanatics?
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Summary: Gaetan
Review: Islam is not a combination of anything to do with the Bible. If it was, Muslims would be calling Jesus "God". You need to separate the Quran from anything Christians or Jews have ever believed to understand true Islam.
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Summary: Class, let's talk about history
Review: After some quite entertaining but not convincing Baer readings; finally an objective, astonishing, enlightening description of the happenings in the arabic world. I guess Prof. Lewis has been having that figured out for a long time. I was particularly surprised by the role of the Nazis in those regions. Great job, great way of summarizing a couple of millenia in 160 pages. Thanks Prof. Lewis.
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Summary: worthy, if flawed, intro to current events
Review: THE CRISIS OF ISLAM mainly concerns itself with the past one or two hundred years of conflict between Islam and the West. Lewis does a good job of detailing the various bones of contention, and spares no one in assigning blame to the current mess. His outlook for the future is dire, indeed. Like his previous book WHAT WENT WRONG?, THE CRISIS OF ISLAM packs a lot of information into a slim volume, yet suffers from being too sketchy at times, so that the reader unfamiliar with the finer details of Middle Eastern conflict is forced to do further research in order to understand his arguments. It doesn't help that there is the occasional sentence that is awkward and unfocused. Still, worthwhile for those looking for some background into the current Mideast situation.
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Summary: Well written and documented
Review: I will keep this short. This is a very well written book. You may not agree with his points and way of looking at things, but you will not have a hard time understanding it. The author has a mission and is pushing a point of view and he is not shy about it. That is refreshing considering that many other writters tend to have a mission but pretend to be objective.
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Summary: This book tells the Middle East as it really is!
Review: This book, along with the superb books by Robert Baer, Dore Gold and Christopher Catherwood tells it as it is in the Middle East. Buy it and give another copy to your friends. This is COOL stuff!
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Summary: Even if you don't always agree with him, Lewis is readable
Review: Even if you don't agree with everything he says, Lewis is always worth reading - if you think he is wrong, you have to do your homework as to why that is so. I don't always agree with 100% of what he says, but he is always challenging, literate, balanced in his language and even if he is wrong, he is much more interesting to read than some of his enemies! So read this book, enjoy it as I have done and then make up your own mind. Christopher Catherwood, author of CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan, 2003)
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Summary: Should be read by everyone
Review: I do not have more info to add over the many good previous reviews except that this book should be read by every one who wants to figure out what is happening in the world. This is a small book that provides a brief view of Islamic history and ideas. For peple who are interested in a good understanding Islamic history and ideas you will have to look elsewhere. But if you want to find out why America is being attacked, you will find some answers here. The message I got from this book was Americans are hated by many Muslim because of what it is and what it represents. I am not sure it would apeace the American haters even if every Americans convert to Islam.
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Summary: Shows how Islam hates America
Review: Islam hates America, we are infidels! If you don't read this book, you simply won't understand how much Arabs hate Americans. It is NOT because the US is pro-Israel. Even if Israel was not around, Arabs would still hate us.
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