We in the west share a common narrative of world history. But our story largely omits a whole civilization whose citizens shared an entirely dif... read full description
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Apr 23, 2011
Sandybanks
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Being neither Muslim nor Western, but nevertheless a citizen of what CNN and other Western media regularly dub “the world’s largest Muslim nation*”, I often feel baffled by the so-called “clash of civilizations” between these two entities. And lately, not just baffled, but also profoundly disturbed by the scale and frequency of sectarian violence in my country, the majority of which allegedly perpetrated by those the author of this book calls “jihadists”. The overwhelming majority of Indon More...
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Jan 30, 2012
Emily
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Knowing about as little about the history of the Middle World (a.k.a., Middle East to Westerners) as one can, this book offered a tremendously satisfying overview, striking the ideal balance between summary and detail, objective reporting and critical analysis. Gently derisive of both Western and Muslim prejudices and dogma, Ansary presents himself as a trustworthy guide, unafraid to critique the culture of his forebearers but refusing to betray it or declare allegiance to another. Of course,
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Dec 31, 2011
JS
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World History, says Tamim Ansary in his introduction, is always the story about how we got to be where we are. It therefore always includes an implicit notion of who "we" are, and what our current place in the history of the world is.
Most people with a basic college education feel that they know how history works. First there was the ancient world, from whose murky depths emerged the cultural brilliance of the Greeks and the political might of the Romans. Then the Roman Empire fell, plungin
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Dec 22, 2011
Kimberly
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I do not think it would be a stretch to say that this book has changed my world view. A history of the world through Islamic eyes, it describes the kingdoms of Asia Minor and Persia chronologically, covering several I had literally never heard of, and explaining the various sects and rifts of Islam in a way that is engaging, memorable, highly readable, and fascinating. One learns why the Abbasids and the Fatimids split, why they are named what they are named, what the Caliphate really is, how
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Dec 08, 2011
Susan
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A good friend actually turned me on to this book, six months ago or more. I bought it but in spite of liking the intro, put it down for other things. So I nominated it for the nonfiction group I'm in and when it was chosen started reading it seriously.
I really liked this book and I think I'd like the author. He's lived in the US for a long time and understands American history, politics and public opinion. He's not religious himself and has a great command of English as well as a More...
I really liked this book and I think I'd like the author. He's lived in the US for a long time and understands American history, politics and public opinion. He's not religious himself and has a great command of English as well as a More...
May 29, 2011
Kim
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Wow. Not only is this a fresh perspective for 'Western' eyes but the author uses an excellent combination of antidotes and sarcasm to unwind history, both Middle Eastern (or Middle World as he very compellingly explains) and Western. The story he tells, and he frankly explains that it is an Arab world-view story as opposed to a sourced and a footnoted history, is easy to read and understand, entirely enjoyable. Why did industrialization take root in Western Europe but, although the engineering w
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Feb 23, 2010
Willowwind
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Ansary is a remarkable story teller in the best sense of the word. Few Americans are sufficiently conversant with the history of the West, let alone Islam. Ansary takes us through the birth and decline of one of humanities most brilliant civilizations from an Islamic point of view, explaining why that culture sees things differently than the industrial west does. He also shows how the seeds of current conflict in the Middle East were sown not only by differing ideas about the world but by the ac
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Jun 26, 2011
Emmett
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Tamim Ansary's book Destiny Disrupted is a look at the complicated history of the the Islamic world or the "Middle World" as he calls it and its intersection with Westernizing forces. In his introduction he claims it not to be a scholarly work, but an attempt to tell the story and show the arc of history in the region. His book is not entirely damning of Western forces (he himself was born in Afghanistan but now lives in The United States and at certain points refers to westerners as "
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Aug 05, 2011
Pasteurisiert
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Für jede Person, die sich für Weltgeschichte interessiert, ist dieses Buch ein absolutes “Muss”.
Im unterhaltsamen Stil des Geschichtenerzählers erzählt mir Tamim Ansary die Geschichte des Teils der Welt, der so gerne in der westlichen Geschichtsschreibung ausgelassen wird und der heute Schauplatz von soviel Krieg und Elend geworden ist.
Tamim beginnt mit den vor-moslemischen Kulturen der Regionen östlich des Mittelmeeres und westlich von Indien. Mit Mohammed wird dann ein Projekt des menschlichen More...
Im unterhaltsamen Stil des Geschichtenerzählers erzählt mir Tamim Ansary die Geschichte des Teils der Welt, der so gerne in der westlichen Geschichtsschreibung ausgelassen wird und der heute Schauplatz von soviel Krieg und Elend geworden ist.
Tamim beginnt mit den vor-moslemischen Kulturen der Regionen östlich des Mittelmeeres und westlich von Indien. Mit Mohammed wird dann ein Projekt des menschlichen More...
Jul 26, 2011
Siria
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Destiny Disrupted is a lively, engaging introduction to world history from the perspective of the 'Middle World'—Western and Central Asia, the birthplace of Islam. It's not an academic work or a textbook, and covering such a vast swathe of history in about 400 pages means that Ansary inevitably has to gloss over some details. Yet he still manages to impressively synthesise a lot of material here into a narrative which gives the reader a sense of the broad arc of history from a Muslim/non-Western
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Jul 20, 2011
Anti Wibawa
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buku ini sebenarnya menarik. tapi bahasanya agak rancu jadi seringnya tersendat. terpaksa baca ulang sambil 'dahi berkerut'. kalau bukan gaya bahasa penulisnya, bisa jadi bahasa si penulis diinterpretasikan secara utuh ke dlm bhs indonesia oleh penerjemah.
two stars: for Indonesia translation. I still believe this is a good book, maybe i should consider English edition.
two stars: for Indonesia translation. I still believe this is a good book, maybe i should consider English edition.
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Sep 30, 2011
Herman
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Buku yang diterjemahkan ke versi Indonesia dengan judul "Dari Puncak Bagdad" ini cukup luar biasa menurut saya. Tamim Ansary membawakan tema sejarah Islam menurut kacamata Islam itu sendiri. Perbedaan persepsi antara barat dan Islam selama ini membawa salah tangkap informasi. Ternyata setelah digali kenapa "dia" bisa sampai "di sini", adalah karena bermula dari beda persepsi. Islam dengan cita-cita luhurnya telah membangun sebuah peradaban dan membantu eropa di abad
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Sep 18, 2011
Kate
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A fascinating book that is a must-read for our political leaders and anyone that considers themself a student of history, political science or wants to learn more about how we got to 9-11. "Destiny Disrupted" is an important reminder that our historical perspective is severely limited by the teachers we have and the cultural history that shapes the discourse. Tamin Ansary does a brilliant job explaining how two world cultures developed side-by-side with limited interaction creating t
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Feb 23, 2010
Erin
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Every single person who grows up in the United States should have to read this book before graduating high school. There is too much ignorance about the history of the Islamic World and that vacuum gets filled up with misinformation, propaganda and lies. This book is written by a historian in the US who hails from Afghanistan and it's an accurate historical account with some philosophical conclusions very similar to Will Durant. In a world where each side is trying to make the other side a "
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Mar 09, 2011
Catherine
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I loved this book - a wonderfully written, captivating survey of world history seen from the vantage point of the Muslim world. Ansary is a storyteller, not a historian, and that makes for a galloping good read that was frequently funny, not to mention wry. I appreciated, so much, his attention to community as well as individuals, to religion and politics, and his critical deployment of tropes from The Princess Bride. I learned an enormous amount, and I'm still reflecting on everything it sa
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Apr 10, 2011
Sarah
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I really loved this book. In essence this book is a romp through 1400+ years of Middle Eastern (or as he likes to call it, Middle World) history. Ansary focuses on history from an Islamic perspective and I totally found myself nodding along to what he was saying since I have the same background and the same exposure to history. However, my one critique would be a serious lack of footnotes. I wasn't too perturbed by the lack of them in this book since I found myself agreeing with everything h
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Mar 10, 2010
John
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This was a highly informative and readable book about how world history is perceived from an Islamic point of view. Since the dynamic between the Western World and Islam seems to be one that will be shaping the future for decades to come, I think trying to better under the Muslim world's views is important.
There were a lot of "aha" moments for me as I read Ansary's book. Why do religious leaders hold such much sway? Why are the Sunni and Shiites always feuding. Why can' More...
There were a lot of "aha" moments for me as I read Ansary's book. Why do religious leaders hold such much sway? Why are the Sunni and Shiites always feuding. Why can' More...
Aug 12, 2011
Yuliani
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Perspektif yang segar dipadu dengan gaya penulisan yang lincah menghasilkan sebuah kajian sejarah yang seru dan menyenangkan untuk dibaca. Karya Tamim Ansary ini tak kalah menarik dari sebuah novel historis. Dia menceritakan rangkaian sejarah dunia dengan menempatkan Islam sebagai titik pusat sudut pandangnya, menyampaikannya dengan bahasa yang ringan agar dapat dinikmati oleh pelajar sekolah menengah sekalipun. Pelaku-pelaku sejarah ditampilkan dengan cara yang dekat-dengan-kekinian, riwayat-r
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Aug 25, 2011
Ansary defines the current world situation as a clash of narratives rather than a clash of civilizations, and his book presents the Muslim narrative for Western readers. His conversational style--as he announces in the beginning, this is how he might tell the story in a coffeehouse, with the addition of a few footnotes--makes the distance between Western and Islamic views clear. For example, the US assumption that Western-style democracy is the most desirable form of government seems less obviou
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Jun 03, 2011
Kimberley
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A very important book for me. This history was never presented to me in my Catholic school environment! Ansary begins his book well before the birth of Islam and continues through 9/11. His style is very accessible. The names of people and places weren't easy for me because of my lack of previous exposure. (Did I mention I went to an all girls' Catholic High School in the late 60s-70s?) However, he explains the intricate history of this 'Middle World' very gently for those of us who haven't stud
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Feb 08, 2012
B.
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This is not a perfect book, but it gives a fascinating and necessary perspective on world history through (a secular humanist account) of Islamic eyes. It's written in a breezy, chatty tone and is occasionally disturbingly reductive, as is most evident when the author shifts back to familiar territory in Europe or Western civilization. Further, the author is a self-professed liberal humanist and it's clear where his allegiances lie in accounts of fundamentalist movements within Islam. This le
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Jan 09, 2011
Glenn
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Destiny Disrupted is a marvelous primer on the complete history of the Muslim world, leading all the way to present day politics. Tamim Ansary challenges Western readers inundated with European and North American history to consider 600 - 2000 AD through a Muslim lens, particularly appreciating the evolution of the Muslim community, the advances made during the European Dark Ages, and the differences which exist in the Middle World today.
Ansary, an Afghani writing from San Francisco, More...
Ansary, an Afghani writing from San Francisco, More...
Aug 12, 2010
Chris
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A fascinating overview of Islamic history written in a clear, easy-to-follow style. Listening to Ansary read his book (I had the audio version) is like listening to a really good college lecturer. Westerners are foolish to disregard the many contributions Islam has made to civilization. Many have no idea of the Muslim empire that spread across a large part of the world while Europe was living a rather brutal existence through the Dark Ages. Ansary explains the schism within Islam between Shia an
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Sep 03, 2011
Jenny
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This book is a very readable history of the world from an Islamic perspective. It focuses on the history of what the author terms the Middle World. Some information about European and Russian History are included, but not much about Africa despite the extensive trading relationships between Arab and African countries. The author does a good job of explaining the development of Islam and the different types of Islam that we see today. The end of the book which brings us up to the current day
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Aug 11, 2011
Karen
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World history from the Islamic point of view, yes, but written very much with the Western reader in mind, which is fair enough, presumably Middle Worlders don't need this kind of broadstroke overview. Ansary uses analogies with concepts that will be familiar to his audience in order to make things clearer and more easily digestible: for example when describing the gap left by the death of Mohammed, he points out that when a saint dies, you can't just appoint a new one in his place, and on the ot
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Jul 19, 2010
Khalid
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A must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the Islamic world. But the book is more than just a litany of past events. It is also an indispensable guide to understanding the political debates and conflicts of today, from 9/11 to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from the Somali pirates to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. As Ansary writes in his conclusion, "The conflict wracking the modern world is not, I think, best understood as a 'clash of civilizations.' ... It'
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Jul 02, 2010
William Herschel
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I'm not really a non-fiction reader-- I like a narrative, not dry recitations of facts. This is an informative and enjoyable account of the history of the world, focusing on Islam and the middle east -- or "the middle world" -- beginning with the Persians and Zoroastrianism and ending with 9/11.
This book doesn't encompass everything. It's 347 pages if you're not including the index and bibliography. Think of it as an introduction, a really good one. Ansary remarks that " More...
This book doesn't encompass everything. It's 347 pages if you're not including the index and bibliography. Think of it as an introduction, a really good one. Ansary remarks that " More...
Dec 21, 2011
Brooks
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Destiny Disrupted is a very readable history of Islamic peoples and nations. It is written by an historian born in Afghanistan now living in Oregon. Tamin Ansary knows both camps and writes with a keen eye and academic irony about his subject and more so, in my view, his audience. It is written along the lines of The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf, but the narrative is much clearer and, of course, larger in scope. This is the book to read for historical background and for explanati
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May 28, 2011
Nancy
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an *incredible*, fascinating journey through world history. very personably told, with humour, as if the author were sitting with you at a party. innumerable insights and ideas to ponder.. how our point of view narrows our potential for analysis, how the current attitude of Islamic peoples/countries is shaped by 2 centuries of history, how our media/government narrative and that of the Islamic countries slide right by each other without any understanding: we're not fighting the same battles. i g
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Aug 12, 2009
Covers the history of Islam beginning before Muhammad's birth and continuing through the Iraq war. It was detailed, interesting, and seemed a fair exposition. There were even humorous touches which I enjoyed. (I listened to the audio book.) In the end, I felt that I understood Islam and the currents within it better. Sadly, I also felt less hopeful about compromise. Ansary points out that the Western society tracks towards individualism and Islam tracks toward community. Perhaps that's sta
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