Professor Brian Catlos鈥檚 latest book,听Kingdoms of Faith. A New History of Islamic Spain听was featured in听The New Yorker鈥檚听鈥淏rief Notices鈥� (23 May issue).
From The New Yorker
, by Brian听A. Catlos (Basic). Rejecting histories of Islamic Spain that cast it as either a haven of peace or a center of conflict, this account explores the intricacies of a civilization built by Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Perusing a variety of sources, including medieval chronicles and poems, the author illuminates the motives that prompted Arab overlords to collaborate with the Visigothic nobility in the eighth century, and Christian princes to accommodate Muslim minorities centuries later. Catlos imparts an intimate sense of how members of different ethnic and religious communities negotiated subtle alliances and engaged in long-lasting cultural exchanges. The final lesson is that the legacy of Islamic Spain鈥斺�渘ine hundred years of creative engagement that took place despite religious difference鈥濃�攅ndures.
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