A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity

Princeton University historian Cook (Ancient Religions, Modern Politics) provides an ambitious if uneven overview of Muslim civilization since the 600s. Depicting the pre-Islam Arabian interior as a stateless wilderness populated by feuding tribes dwelling in the shadow of powerful Persian and Byzantine empires, Cook argues that such conditions made the rise of a Muslim state an unlikely success story. He briskly outlines Islam’s early years—including the conquering of Mecca in 630 and a civil war over succession beginning in 656—before diving into a narrative-driven account of the Islamic empire’s outward expansion and its eventual collapse in the face of weak rulers, hostile states, and financial troubles. Moving on to the post–empire Islamic world (the 11th through 18th centuries), Cook tours the globe, bringing cultures and customs to life in evocative detail (such as how a Muslim-majority Tamil community built a network of women-only alleyways). He competently tackles topics with modern implications, like race and the trans-Saharan slave trade, though his academic tone leads to a chronic case of understatement (e.g., “the controversial idea of the curse of Ham”). The last section pivots to a less illustrative, more discursive analysis of the 1800s through today that makes for a rocky ending to an otherwise steady narrative. The result is an accessible history of the Muslim world that falters in its finale. (May)