A Middle East Mosaic: Fragments of Life, Letters and History

by Bernard Lewis

In times of war and in peace, from the earliest days of the Roman Empire to our own, Westerners have traveled to the lands of the Middle East, bringing back accounts of their adventures and impressions. But it was never a one-way journey. In this spirited collection of Western views of the Middle East and Middle Eastern views of the West, Bernard Lewis gives us a rich overview of two thousand years of commerce, diplomacy, war and exploration. We hear from Napoleon, St. Augustine, T. E. Lawrence, Karl Marx and Ibn Khaldun. We peer into Queen Elizabeth's business correspondence, strike oil with Freya Stark and follow the footsteps of Mark Twain and Ibn Battuta, the Marco Polo of the East. This book is a delight, a treasury of stories drawn not only from letters, diaries and histories, but also from unpublished archives and previously untranslated accounts.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East, 21st Century, Religion

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Bernard Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University and the author of many critially acclaimed and bestselling books, including two number one New York Times bestsellers: What Went Wrong? and Crisis of Islam. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Internationally recognized as the greatest historian of the Middle East, he received fifteen honorary doctorates and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attempts to unravel an extremely complex history, but does it in an eloquent manner.

[Eric Stutzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This stands out as one of the best historical works I have ever read on a few counts. For starters, it uses mostly primary sources, which many nonfiction books do not, which gives it a much more real feel, as well as being far more factually based with little to no embellishment. Secondly, it covers a wide span of time, and still manages to give each time period it covers both equal amounts of time in the spotlight, but also keeping the reader's attention during each section as well. Finally, it was written in a way that shows no bias or inclination towards any specific topic or era which, sadly, many nonfiction books of lesser caliber cannot avoid. As a result, it is not only one of the most engaging historical books I've ever read, it is categorically the best book I have ever read regarding the Middle East.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It was a pleasant, fun read, while also being informative. It felt like a travel book, but written by an historian or linguist. I wish I could write a book like this.

[Senem · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Dillon Tatum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!! All primary source documents, in translation, relating to all time periods of Middle East history.

[Josh Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series of excerpts from primary sources. I liked the Middle East's reaction to the French and American Revolutions and Muslim reaction to western culture especially.