In the Shadow of the Sword, Tom Holland
In the Shadow of the Sword, Tom Holland
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In the Shadow of the Sword
The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire

Author: Tom Holland

Narrator: Steven Crossley

Unabridged: 18 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/12/2015

Categories: Nonfiction, History, Religion


Synopsis

The evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. In this exciting and sweeping history—the third in his trilogy of books on the ancient world—Tom Holland describes how the Arabs emerged to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion in a matter of decades, overcoming seemingly insuperable odds to create an imperial civilization. With profound bearing on the most consequential events of our time, Holland ties the exciting story of Islam's ascent to the crises and controversies of the present.

About Tom Holland

Historian Tom Holland is the author of several nonfiction works of history, including Rubicon, Persian Fire, and The Forge of Christendom. Rubicon was short-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the 2004 Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History, and Persian Fire won the Anglo-Hellenic League's 2006 Runciman Award.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tariq on January 25, 2016

What a controversially exciting book for the Muslims of the world. Its an honour to get a serious scholar like Tom Holland actually researching the history of the Muslims and presenting theories that help fill out many gaps in the known Muslim history. Read on if you are slightly concerned about the......more

Goodreads review by Paul on October 18, 2024

I've read all of Tom Holland's books to date, but this one has proved the most controversial by far. It recounts the birth of the three great Abrahamic religions in late-antiquity, but predictably, given the current intellectual climate, it's his musings on the third, Islam, that has attracted the m......more

Goodreads review by Steve on December 18, 2012

After hearing an interview with the author, I decided to read this, not out of any particular interest in Islam, but because of my curiosity for the origins of things. In that respect, In the Shadow of the Sword did not disappoint. As best I can tell, Tom Holland deserves to be commended for his res......more

Goodreads review by George on September 04, 2016

"In the Shadow of the Sword" by Tom Holland is an overview of the predecessors of Islam and Islam's first hundred years. The first 75% of the book covers the centuries immediately before Islam (up to about the year 610) and the last 25% covers Mohammed, the Quran, and the first century of Islamic ex......more

Goodreads review by Jimmit on April 16, 2016

I expected much better from Tom Holland! I don't have enough background in history to comment upon the exact coloring of the text but I got the feeling that the author was not entirely objective in the historical account. I found that the author was too critical of the actions of Muslims. E.g.(view spoiler)[ the r (hide spoiler)]......more