I recently reviewed After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam (Lesley Hazleton), for the Dallas Morning News. Had it been up to me, this is what the review would have looked like:
OMG!! THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!! IF THIS BOOK WERE A PERSON, I WOULD MARRY IT!! GO READ THIS BOOK!!1!
Ahem.
But as it was not up to me, the actual review went something like this:
“Reading these voices from the seventh century,” [Hazleton] writes of her source material, “you feel as though you are sitting in the middle of a vast desert grapevine, a dense network of intimate knowledge defying the limitations of space and time.”
One might easily say the same of this remarkable book. Surely anyone with an interest in the Muslim world or U.S. foreign policy should pick up After the Prophet at the first opportunity — and so, too, should any reader interested in a story of human passion and consequence, told with consummate skill.
The full review is here; the website for the book is here.
Now, really: Go read this book!! OMG!!
Emily L. Hauser - In My Head 
Patty
/ October 1, 2009Your recommendation is all I need. I will definitely read this book.
Michael Levin
/ October 1, 2009Raed Jarrar, the Iraq consultant for the American Friends Service Committee, argues that one of the most significant aspects of the dominant US narrative concerning the conflict in Iraq –> that much of the strife in Iraq is rooted in internal sectarian and religious conflict between Sunni and Shia — is a deeply and profoundly misleading perspective. For an overview of his argument see:
Speak For Peace Tour: Raed Jarrar Part 1 [9:55]
Speak For Peace Tour: Raed Jarrar Part 2 [10:00]
Speak For Peace Tour: Raed Jarrar Part 3 [9:11]
A more detailed analysis by Raed Jarrar is also available on YouTube: “Iraq Occupation: Raed Jarrar decodes the misinformation” [May 23, 2008, University of Hawaii, 1:11:40].
Vicki
/ October 6, 2009Even the cover is enough to lure me in. Your enthusiastic endorsement has me bookmarking it on Amazon.