Muslim Spain and Portugal : A Political History of al-Andalus

Rating:
Summary: A condensed summary of events from a different perspective
Review: Hugh Kennedy attempts to summarize nearly eight centuries of complex History into a little over 300 pages. The result is a tedious, incomplete yet interesting read.

His intentions are to give the Muslim side of the story (an aspect which has been seriously considered by so-called "western" scholars only in the last half century, and which is sparking increasing interest especially in North, Central and South America).

As an academic Historian he achieves his goal at the price of having to oversimplify and often make assumptions based on the most current opinions. This is not necessarily to say that he is biased. But I do believe that he has over-extended the possibilities with this book. There is way too much information, which is too complicated to be compressed into such a small space.

He is to be admired for his ambition, but I'm afraid that unless you are already aware of the History of the area and just need a summary of events which is a bit more detailed than any encyclopedia, this book is going to be a heavy load to carry.

For the beginner who just needs to know more about Muslim Spain, this is a reliable source, but don't get discouraged by the density of its contents, take it one chapter at a time, and you can greatly benefit from it. For further details on certain aspects and for a list of sources, Kennedy provides a very good bibliography at the end, which will undoubtedly enrich your knowledge of the subject.

I give it four stars for its factual content (a very high achievement on its own), but won't give it the extra star because of the overload it causes.

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction
Review: Kennedy's book is a great introduction to the political history of Muslim Iberia. Densely packed with information, the book could have used more maps and lexcionic information. If you are not already familiar with the general outline of the situation in medieval Iberia (either from an encyclopedia or a survey of the Middle Ages), you may want to become so before tackling Kennedy's work. This book should serve as a foundation for building a larger and more detailed understanding through future reading.

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction
Review: Kennedy's book is a great introduction to the political history of Muslim Iberia. Densely packed with information, the book could have used more maps and lexcionic information. If you are not already familiar with the general outline of the situation in medieval Iberia (either from an encyclopedia or a survey of the Middle Ages), you may want to become so before tackling Kennedy's work. This book should serve as a foundation for building a larger and more detailed understanding through future reading.