Bernard Lewis was a renowned historian specializing in the Middle East, whose influential works explored the region's complex history and contemporary challenges. He approached the subject with a deep understanding of its cultural and political dynamics, offering insightful analyses that resonated widely. Lewis's writings are characterized by their scholarly rigor and their ability to illuminate intricate historical narratives for a broad readership. His contributions significantly shaped the understanding of Middle Eastern affairs globally.
The book provides a comprehensive account of Swansea's experiences during World War II, highlighting its strategic significance as a target for Nazi attacks. It details the town's preparations for war, including air-raid shelters and anti-aircraft defenses, and examines the effects of conscription, food rationing, and the plight of Jewish refugees and evacuated children. The narrative explores the impact of air raids, particularly the devastating February 1941 attacks, and the community's responses to emergencies, drawing on extensive archival research and personal stories.
The astonishing story of Henry Coombe-Tennant (1913-89), who served in the
British Army in World War II, escaping from a POW camp, joining Special Forces
and aiding the French Resistance, before working for the British Secret
Service in Baghdad and ending his days as a Benedictine monk!
Exploring Islamic political thought, this collection features 11 essays by Bernard Lewis, a prominent figure in Middle Eastern studies. Renowned for his accessible writing, Lewis engages a diverse audience, including scholars, politicians, and journalists, making complex historical insights approachable for the general public. The essays reflect his deep understanding of the subject, offering valuable perspectives on the interplay between Islam and politics.
There are few historians like Bernard Lewis, who end up as historical actors in their own right. When we think of the Middle East, we see it in terms that he defined and articulated. In this exceptional memoir, the bestselling author of What Went Wrong? shares stories of his wartime service in London and Cairo as an intelligence officer for MI6. After the war, he was the first Western scholar to enter the Ottoman archives. He explains how he coined the phrase "clash of civilizations" in the 1950s, long before anyone imagined that political Islam would one day pose more of a threat than communism. Then September 11 catapulted him onto the world stage. Notes on a Century chronicles a time of spectacular upheaval in the Middle East-from the Second World War and the founding of Israel to the Iranian Revolution and the Arab Spring. Book jacket.
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.
Portrays the Judaeo-Islamic tradition - a cultural relationship parallel to the Judaeo-Christian heritage. This book traces its origins in the early Middle Ages, its flowering, and its ending, followed by the incorporation of most of the Jews of Islamic countries into the state of Israel. It examines the relations of Islam and other religions.
This second volume examines the religion and structure of Islamic society. Bernard Lewis draws on a broad range of Islamic literature, including books on religious sects, politics and economics, philosophy and science, travel, biography and literary works, and even bureaucratic records from such disparate sources as the postal service and the judiciary. Comprehensive and cogently translated, these documents bring into sharp focus aspects of a world long neglected by Western historians.
Bernard Lewis, a distinguished scholar fluent in multiple languages, has significantly contributed to the understanding of Islam, the Ottoman Empire, and the modern Middle East for Western audiences. This collection compiles his reflections on Middle Eastern history and foreign affairs spanning six decades. The essays explore various topics, including pan-Arabism, the Mughal and Ottoman empires, and the dynamics between Western powers and the Middle East. They also delve into travel experiences, culinary traditions, and the challenges of documenting Middle Eastern history. Key events of the twentieth century, such as the rise of modern Israel, the Iranian Revolution, and the Gulf War, are examined alongside pressing issues like the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the roles of figures like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. The collection features a mix of English originals, previously unpublished writings, and notable essays from esteemed publications like Foreign Affairs and The New York Review of Books. With over fifty pieces accompanied by a personal memoir from Lewis, this anthology serves as an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the complexities of the Middle East, offering deep insights into its history, culture, politics, and contemporary issues.
Discuss the Islamic Scriptures that form the basis for its political language,
looks at the changes in modern Islamic politics, and analyzes the
transformation of political terms.
In this immensely readable and wide ranging book,Bernard Lewis charts the successive transformations of the Middle East,beginning with the two great empires,the Roman and the Persian,and covering the growth of Christianity,the rise and spread of Islam,the waves of invaders from the east,the Mongol hordes of Jengiz Khan,the rise of the Ottoman Turks,and the changing balance of power between the Muslim and Christian worlds.THE MIDDLE EAST is a brilliant survey of the history and civilisations of the region.
Most of the modern states of the Middle East are of recent origin, yet the region is the birthplace of three religions and many civilizations. Bernard Lewis, one of the world's most respected historians of the Middle East, discusses the countries and frontiers; their religions and communities; language and loyalties to place, and Middle Eastern perceptions of outsiders. He also considers the effect of alien ideas and influences including liberalism, nationalism, fascism, socialism and democracy.
In a sweeping and vivid survey, renowned historian Bernard Lewis charts the history of the Middle East over the last 2,000 years, from the birth of Christianity through the modern era, focusing on the successive transformations that have shaped it. Elegantly written, scholarly yet accessible, The Middle East is the most comprehensive single volume history of the region ever written from the world's foremost authority on the Middle East. In a sweeping and vivid survey, renowned historian Bernard Lewis charts the history of the Middle East over the last 2,000 years, from the birth of Christianity through the modern era, focusing on the successive transformations that have shaped it. Elegantly written, scholarly yet accessible, The Middle East is the most comprehensive single volume history of the region ever written from the world's foremost authority on the Middle East.
President Bush has made it clear that we are engaged in a war against terrorism. But for Usama bin Laden and his followers this is religious war, a war for Islam against infidels, especially the United States, the greatest power in the world of the infidels. In this book Bernard Lewis shows us where the anger and frustration have come from, and the extent to which almost the entire Muslim world is affected by poverty and tyranny. He looks at the influence of extreme Wahhabist doctrines in the Saudi kingdom, where custodianship of Islam's holy places and the revenues of oil have given worldwide impact to what would otherwise have been an extremist fringe in a marginal country. He looks at American double standards, which have long caused Muslim anger, and tells us the real meaning of `Islamic fundamentalism', `jihad' and `fatwa', and why the peoples of the Middle East are conscious of history in a way most Americans find difficult to understand.
In this enlightening and highly-praised collection of essays, extensively revised, Lewis explores the vast common heritage shared by Islam and the West, the history of the troubled relationship, and the perceptions each side holds of the other. This is a matchless guide to the backgroud of Middle East conflicts today from an eminent authority.
In this landmark volume, an authority on the Middle East examines the anguished reaction of the Islamic world as it tries to understand why things have changed, how they have been overtaken, overshadowed, and to an increasing extent dominated by the West. 15 illustrations. Map.
With the departure of imperial powers--and on its own for the first time in almost two centuries--the Middle East must now resolve its political, economic, cultural, and societal problems in order to advance its civilization. In this volume, historian Bernard Lewis discusses the future of the region in this new era: will its nations face cooperation and progress or a vicious cycle of poverty and ignorance? The author examines the most critical issues in detail. Oil may be the Middle East's most important export, but technology will eventually make it obsolete, he warns, leaving those who depend on oil revenues with a bleak future. Water will become a contentious issue between nations. The role of Turkey, Israel, and women in the region are the most potentially transformative factors. If freedom fails and terror triumphs, says Lewis, the peoples of Islam will be the first and greatest victims.
Egyptian Short Stories from the Earliest Times to the Present Day
196 pages
7 hours of reading
The 1948 first edition, published by Harvill Press, was among the first to translate Egyptian stories into modern English without ye olde archaic affectation. In this second edition, four stories have been added and some revisions in translation have been made. The 22 stories are from ancient, Greco-Roman, Coptic, and Muslim Egypt. Names and allusions are explained in footnotes. There is no index or bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
This two-volume set explores the history of Christians and Jews in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire and how their identities as non-Muslims evolved over 400 years.
Quando si discute di globalizzazione, emergono atteggiamenti contrastanti: da un lato opportunità e crescita, dall'altro oppressione e mercificazione. Questo fenomeno suscita dibattiti tra studiosi e cittadini, generando sia speranze che timori. È davvero nuovo, o rappresenta una sfida rinnovata alla conoscenza e al progresso, simile a rivoluzioni passate? Se non è innovativo, come possiamo garantire che i benefici siano equamente distribuiti tra i popoli? Il mondo si sta espandendo: commerci, relazioni economiche, politiche e culturali si intrecciano, portando con sé valori e aspirazioni. Tuttavia, sorgono interrogativi su cosa non funzioni in questo processo e su cosa debba essere corretto. È giusto fermare l'espansione o continuare a promuoverla? Le lezioni raccolte nella Sala Zuccari di Palazzo Giustiniani affrontano queste tematiche, presentando contributi di figure di spicco come Giovanni Agnelli, Henry Kissinger, Václav Havel, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Bill Gates e Bernard Lewis. Insieme, offrono una prospettiva preziosa e originale sul fenomeno della globalizzazione, esplorando le sue dimensioni economiche, politiche, culturali e storiche.
The eleventh-century Muslim world was a great civilization while Europe lay slumbering in the Dark Ages. Slowly, inevitably, Europe and Islam came together, through trade and war, crusade and diplomacy. The ebb and flow between these two worlds for seven hundred years, illuminated here by a brilliant historian, is one of the great sagas of world history.
Die Vorträge des 25. Wolfenbütteler Symposions, das vom 11.-15. Juni 1989 in der Herzog August Bibliothek stattfand, beleuchten die Frage, ob die „Dialoge“ und „Disputationen“ zwischen den Religionen im Mittelalter tatsächlich so stattfanden, wie sie überliefert sind, oder ob die Berichte lediglich die Sichtweise der aufzeichnenden Partei widerspiegeln. Die 22 Vorträge sind in drei Gruppen unterteilt:
I: Innerjüdische Auseinandersetzungen sowie jüdisch-christliche und christlich-jüdische Disputationen, darunter Themen wie die Karaite-Kontroverse und die Barcelona-Disputation von 1263.
II: Innerchristliche Auseinandersetzungen sowie christlich-muslimische und muslimisch-christliche Gespräche, mit Vorträgen über Anti-Cathar-Polemik und den Dialog zwischen Byzantinern und Türken während der osmanischen Expansion.
III: Innermuslimische Auseinandersetzungen sowie zwei muslimische Untersuchungen über Juden und den interreligiösen Dialog.
Den Abschluss bildet ein übergreifender Beitrag, der die Wahrnehmungen von Identität und Differenz im Islam thematisiert.
In questo libro ormai classico, Bernard Lewis ribalta la nostra usuale nozione della parola "scoperta": qui gli europei non sono gli esploratori di terre remote e selvagge, ma gli esotici barbari "oggetto di scoperta e di studio da parte di osservatori provenienti dalle terre dell'Islam". Per questo, Lewis racconta la battaglia di Poitiers come dovette apparire non a Carlo Martello ma agli arabi, e Lepanto e l'assedio di Vienna dal punto di vista dei turchi. Racconta soprattutto l'immagine dell'Europa riflessa nelle opere della cultura islamica: un'Europa che nel Medioevo appariva arretrata e incivile, e che nei secoli seguenti diventa sempre più lontana e incomprensibile.
Die Geschichte der arabischen Kultur und Zivilisation von den Anfängen bis in die Gegenwart von einem der besten Kenner des Nahen Ostens. Bernard Lewis gibt einen anschaulichen und fundierten Einblick in die Identität und in das kulturelle Erbe der arabischen Völker. Er zeichnet ihre Geschichte von den Anfängen in vorislamischer Zeit über die ersten Eroberungskriege, die Entstehung des osmanischen Weltreiches, den Zerfall der arabischen Macht bis zu den heutigen arabischen Nationalstaaten nach. Er zeigt einerseits, welchen Einfluss die arabische Kultur auf die europäische Geschichte hatte und verdeutlicht andererseits den Einfluss des Westens auf die islamischen Staaten in der Neuzeit.
Bernard Lewis erklärt das aktuelle politische Geschehen im Licht der historischen Zusammenhänge. Der Nahe Osten wird als historische, geographische und kulturelle Einheit definiert. Die Bedeutung des Westens für die Menschen im Nahen Osten wird erläutert und das Verhalten des Westens dargestellt. Die politischen und geistigen Bewegungen der neueren und neuesten Zeit, eingeteilt in drei Hauptgruppen, liberal-sozialistische, patriotisch-nationalistische und islamische, werden geschildert. Zuletzt befaßt sich der Autor mit dem Standort und der Rolle der Länder des Nahen Ostens in der internationalen Politik und betrachtet die Fakten, die das wesdiche Verhalten ihnen gegenüber bestimmen. »Es gibt Bücher, die sollten von der Bild-Zeitung in Fortsetzung gedruckt und von Sat 1 verfilmt und zur besten Sendezeit ausgestrahlt werden, Bücher, die gegen Verstocktheit und Borniertheit zu Felde ziehen, die das Gegenmittel gegen den Bazillus menschlicher Dummheit sein können. Dazu gehört unbedingt das Werk von Bernard Lewis.« (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
