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The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. By Hugh Kennedy. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-306-81585-0. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xiii, 421. $27.95.
The Great Arab Conquests is an updated account of a story that has been told many times before. Indeed, its author, Hugh Kennedy, explored the subject over twenty years ago in a chapter in The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates (1986) and in The Armies of the Caliphs (2001). Whereas these earlier works were decidedly scholarly and primarily intended for an academic audience, this more recent work appears to be aimed at the general reader, particularly those looking to gain a better understanding of the historical foundations of the Arab world. Kennedy, Professor of Mediaeval History at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, is a prolific author and one of the leading scholars of the classical period of Islamic history. He brings great talent and knowledge to the difficult task of crafting a compelling narrative of one of the most rapid and wide-ranging military campaigns in history....