Description
By (author) Baer, Marc David
Short /annotation:
A thought-provoking new history by the author of the Wolfson Prize-shortlisted The Ottomans
:
A Financial Times Book to Read in 2026Muslims and Jews have engaged one another -sometimes for better, sometimes for worse – for over 1,400 years. Yet recent discourse tends to focus on only the most antagonistic aspects of the two communities” interactions. Marc David Baer paints a more nuanced picture of Muslim-Jewish relations, from Muhammad”s first interactions with Jewish Arabs in the seventh century and their shared struggles after the Spanish Reconquistato the ongoing modern conflict in the Middle East. Free from the myths and counter-myths of earlier accounts, this is a timely and indispensable new analysis of two communities, often existing side by side, whose relations will continue to shape global politics for decades to come.
Review quote:
Fascinating and essential, this excellent history is illuminating and important – a revelatory picture of both coexistence and conflict of Muslims and Jews over a thousand years, a story so little known and totally relevant to our world today
Review quote:
A valuable and important study that offers powerful correctives to myths of perpetual antagonism and utopian coexistence across 1400 years of Jewish-Muslim relations
Review quote:
Baer reveals a complex history of coexistence, conflict and exchange that continues to influence global politics today
Review quote:
This remarkable book assuaged my pessimism, and made me believe that mutual trust and care can grow back, when wisdom emerges from unspeakable sorrow and there is an honest reckoning with history
Review quote:
A superb book that reminds us of the forgotten history of Jewish-Muslim collaborations, protections, alliances, and symbiosis going back thousands of years. The common beliefs and similar rituals of Jews and Muslims makes them kissing cousins. A timely and urgent reminder for our battle-scarred times
Review quote:
Praise for The Ottomans: A superb, gripping and refreshing new history – finely written and filled with fascinating characters and analysis
Review quote:
Magnificent . . . [An] important and hugely readable book – a model of well-written, accessible scholarship
Review quote:
A book as sweeping, colourful, and rich in extraordinary characters as the empire which it describes
Review quote:
A winning portrait of seven centuries of empire
Biographical note:
Marc David Baer is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics. He has published widely on Jewish and Islamic history, and is an expert on the Ottoman empire. His most recent work, The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs, was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize.
Promotional headline:
A thought-provoking new history by the author of the Wolfson Prize-shortlisted The Ottomans
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.