The author is an expert on the field, but this book doesn't seem well suited to the interested layman, at least to me. Such a rich history like the one of Islam may be impossible to distil into a relatively short book which is supposed to be reader-friendly. Lots of names are dropped and therefore it is difficult to get a deeper understanding of the history of this religion. However, the included images are excellent, and the chapter dealing with the crusades as well as the final chapter about developments in the last two centuries have been illuminative.
Quite an intersting presentation of the history of islam. It's not about the islam as religion, so it doesn't explain, what islam is, it's more about the development of the islam in a political, historical and cultural manner, beginning from it's origins to present. Sometimes not an easy read, but well researched and with very beautiful illustrations.