Rating: 
Summary: Superb
Review: This is a wonderfully concise history. Armstrong includes a splendid bibliography for her readers. This book should be required reading for anyone unfamiliar with Islam, read: members of the American television news media. Personally, I've yet to find anything written by Karen Armstrong that was not scholarly, accessible, and USEFUL reading.
Rating:
Summary: Seal of the Prophets
Review: It is very difficult to put the Prophet Mohammed and the genesis of Islam in perspective. Perhaps it is an equal mystery to the Moslem. The problem is also--the facts. The reality of the historical emergence of Islam is not born out by these facts. And the enigma of Mohammed at first defies normal historical logic, and the appearance of this, the last, of the great religions of antiquity at the fringes of civilizations going into medieval decline is a gripping tale that Armstrong tells very well, in a brief snapshot that might lead into deeper study, there to discover the darker picture of Islamic history and Jihad. Armstrong's analyis makes use of the idea of the 'Axial Age' religion, based on the idea of Karl Jaspers. The analysis of religion with this concept tends to create confusion, since, as with Islam, and with Christianity, few religions appear in the Axial Age, only their ambiguous sources, which, by this reckoning, includes direct opposites, theistic and non-theistic religions, such as Buddhism. So what is the significance? Further, as Armstrong notes, Jaspers, read carefully, wonders if the rise of the modern is not the 'next Axial Age'. The question of the Axial Age requires a finer analysis, to show that the period indicated produced something much more general than a series of religions. The Axial Age concept highlights the relativity of separate opposite religions. In fact, Classical Greece in its flowering is part of that Axial Age. This suggests the clear pattern indicated is simply not the 'breakthrough to transcendence' that the Axial Age is taken to mean. If this is true, then what is the status of all of these other religions, especially is the rise of the modern is another Axial effect, whatever all this means, if anything? The point must be to aspire to a sympathetic but firm demystification of the nature of these religions, something conventional sociology cannot manage either. So the enigmas remain. We can at least do away with factual enigmas. A work such as Paul Fergosi's Jihad at the other end of the spectrum might complement this idyllic portrait of the six century Arabic poet Mohammed spreading compassion. The correct perception of Islam is very difficult and demands multiple perspectives.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Beginning and Ending
Review: The first and last chapters of Karen Armstrong's work shines with a intuitive brilliance and a piercing analysis of the origins of Islam and the state and nature of Islam in modern days. Her precise and descriptive opening detailing the life of Muhammad and his sucessors, reveals the bare soul of Islam through the course of historical events. She well establishes the theme which dominates the remainder of the text and that speaks to the very heart of Islam, that unlike in the west, where the state and religion are ideally mutually exclusive, the very nature of the emergence of Islam belies that idea. Islam rose from the need to establish a peace and order in a barbarous land. A primary goal of Islam, as stated in the Qu'ran, is to have a state of harmony and equality on the earth, an ideal worth of Allah. The final chapter of Islam deals with the clash of western life with Islamism, and the resultant recoil and reemergence of fundamentalism. She brilliantly and thoughtfully draws the philosophical, political and societal origins for the modern day Islamic state, which gives a fuller view to the uneducated western reader.
To add to this praise, a thorough, yet concise chronology of major events in the history of Islam is found just within the cover and following the text there is a collection of the major figures in Islam throughout history, giving dates and achievements and finally a brief glossary of common Arabic terms.
However, and the prime reason this book recieves 4 stars instead of 5, is the midsection of the book. Armstrong reverts to a very dry reading of Islamic history, of assembled dates, blurred names, and ephemeral nation states, but more annoying is her seeming lack of cause and effect, merely having Islamic movements and nationstates spring to life without source and as mysteriously dissappear into the backlot of history. Also, in most cases she gently side steps terrorism, giving only mild castigations. She notes in one section that there has never been proof of the muslim population in India destroying Hindu temples, and yet a few pages later, the Moghul dynasty is destroying them left and right. The word assassin, originates from the Arabic word for early shiite terrorists. And Islam's history even that of its most high prophet Muhammad is incredibly bloody and yet she never attempts to truly tackle the root of it. However this is an excellent book to understand the core of the muslim identity and the best of mainstream Islam.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I'm very picky when it comes to history books. They have to be structured just right to keep me reading. I can't stand having to keep going back to find out 'who is this person again?' Karen Armstrong not only put a timeline in the beginning of her book, but there's a glossary of Arabic terms and a list of all the people she talks about in the back so that it's easy to look up details. The history itself is thorough and well written making this book altogether great.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Informed
Review: This is an excellent introduction to a much misunderstood religion. Armstrong never loses sight of political focus of Islam, and introduces readers to important concepts as they are developed through the ages. The book is therefore a history of ideas as much as it is a history of Islamic societies (one can not be fully understood without the other). The notes on key Islamic figures and Arabic terms are useful references, particularly to readers who start with little background knowledge. The writing is concise, sympathetic and generous.
Rating:
Summary: Armstrong's Islamic leanings don't detract from the book
Review: Karen Amstrong remains "free-lance" in many ways. However, as far as I can determine, her research and presentation of the facts (dates, names, etc.) are - as usual - excellent. One finishes the book with the impression that Armstrong has strong leanings toward Islam; perhaps that is only my perception. One must conclude that the "accretions" (traditions not found in the Qur'an) of Islam today (in 2001) are as widespread as they are in almost every "religion." One must also conclude that there are as many divisions in Islam today (2001) as in any other "religion" on the planet. Read it for history; read it to realize how far many Muslims have strayed from the Qur'an (which is no different from Christians straying from the Bible, etc.); read it to learn. As "Jerry" once said, "It's a good read." (If you get the "Jerry" part, email me. It has nothing to do with religion.)
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Introduction to Islamic History
Review: This book is a very concise book on the history of Islam. The author has done her best to include the most important events in the history of Islam to fit into these many pages. It is one of the best history guides for a Western person who would rather read a book written by a Western author than an Islamic Author.
Rating:
Summary: good introduction to a wonderful religion
Review: As a convert to Islam, I applaud Armstrong's efforts to reveal a tiny glimpse of the beauty of Islam. Although the age-old stereotypes of Islam are devoid of any intellectual merit, they continue to exist. However, people who are really searching for the truth easily overcome this wave of propaganda. This book provides an beginning to that search. Although Armstrong's analysis of Islam is not 100% correct, it is good enough.
Rating:
Summary: A small door into a vast new world...
Review: It's a pity this book isn't a standard text for secondary school students. The history of Islam is something all Westerners should learn in their teens - and don't. Robinson's book is both a revelation and an indictment of our collective ignorance."Islam, A Short History" is densely written, and sympathetically describes the evolution not only of the Islamic world, but also of the practices and tenets of this major monotheistic religion. Armstrong's tome not only dwells on the history of Islam, but also traces most major currents of thought within Dar al-Islam. She examines the evolution of Sharia (Islamic law), Sufism, the Ismailis, Twelver Shiism, and Wahhabism, just to mention a few of the streams that comprise this river. Best of all, this volume is written in plain English, simply written, incisive when need be, concise if not. Ten maps show the ebb and flow of Islam: The illustrate the early conquests, the growth of the Umayyad Empire, the disintegration of the Abbasid Empire, the extent of the Seljuk Empire, the geography of the Middle Eastern Crusader states (in the 12th century), the threatening Mongol world in the 13th century, The Safavid Empire, the Moghul Empire in India, and the Ottoman Empire. The amirs, caliphs, ulamas, qadis (judges), and a host of other political, military, administrative, and religious figures are examined and put into their historical contexts. "Islam, A Short History" contains a first-class 275-entry (!) chronology, a listing of 118 historical figures (!) from the history of Islam, a VERY exhaustive listing of additional readings (bibliography), and a good index. (The only weak point is a somewhat truncated glossary of Arabic terms.) Of the many books I have read about Islam, this is the one I would recommend as the first to read - it is a the perfect introduction to a fascinating (and almost unknown) new world.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting first look at Islam
Review: This is an interesting beginning, along with Paul Johnson's look at the Renaissance, to a potenially fascinating series, the Modern Library Chronicle Books. The short format can not lead to anything substantial, obviously, but Karen Armstrong has taken an effective approach to the work. The first part of the book is basically a chronological history that whisks the reader through almost fifteen hundred years of Islamic history. It can be confusing if one, such as I, is encountering many of these names and ideas for the first time. It did make me want to search out more specific books on Islam on certain of the people and topics that were of particular interest through reading Ms. Armstong's book. It is a good overview. The last part of the book borrows very heavily from Ms. Armstrong's books, including the wonderful Battle for God. If you have read her other books, the ideas will be familiar to you. If not, you will probably find something new to think about. It is interesting to have a narrative history tied to a well-written selection of essays that amount to an intelligent plea for understanding of other traditions. This is a wonderful book that provides a good beginning for a look at Islam, with a well-chosen bibliography to lead the reader to a fuller understanding of this many varied topic.
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