Cultures in Conflict

Hailed as the doyen of Middle Eastern studies in The New York Times Book Review, Bernard Lewis stands at the height of his field. To read Mr. Lewis, wrote Fouad Ajami in The Wall Street Journal, is to be taken through a treacherous terrain by the coolest and most reassuring of guides. You are in the hands of the Islamic world's foremost living historian. Now this sure-handed guide takes us through treacherous terrain indeed--the events of 1492, a year laden with epic events and riven by political debate.

With elegance and erudition, Lewis explores that climactic year as a clash of civilizations--a clash not only of the New World and the Old, but also of Christendom and Islam, of Europe and the rest. In the same year that Columbus set sail across the Atlantic, he reminds us, the Spanish monarchy captured Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the peninsula, and also expelled the Jews. Lewis uses these three epochal events to explore the nature of the European-Islamic conflict, placing the voyages of discovery in a striking new context. He traces Christian Europe's path from being a primitive backwater on the edges of the vast, cosmopolitan Caliphate, through the heightening rivalry of the two religions, to the triumph of the West over Islam, examining the factors behind their changing fortunes and cultural qualities.

Balanced and insightful, this far-reaching discussion of the encounters between Islam, the West, and the globe provides a new understanding of the distant events that gave shape to the modern world.

Our leading historian of Islam takes a revealing look at the Muslim-Christian conflict in the age of discovery. Bernard Lewis's balanced, insightful account of this pivotal era transcends the recent polemics about 1492, providing readers with a striking portrait of an age often obscured by the anger and complacency of today.

A fascinating and necessary text. A must-read for anyone interested in Europe at one of its most striking moments. The text balances out our understanding of Islam and its impact on Europe.--James Lusueur, University of La Verne

The author avoids simplistic, good guy-bad guy interpretations; there are plenty of sins to go around.--The Dallas Morning News

A sharply etched picture....Neither blindly celebratory nor unthinkingly self-flagellating, it offers a vivid interpretation of all three of the major events of 1492....Civilized, humane, [and] erudite over an enormous range.--Times Literary Supplement

An elegant book.--Kirkus Reviews

Lewis writes with unsurpassed erudition and grace.--The Washington Times

Lewis's Western orientation and definitive knowledge of Eastern life and religion lead him to some unusual deductions that are well thought out and presented. This short course in the Age of Discovery should prove a useful tool.--Susan H. Woodcock, School Library Journal