Abacus In The Shadow Of The Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World

This book took Holland twice as long to write (6 years) than his usual work because he assumed there would be plenty of accessible evidence and documentation to digest and work through, but no, very little existed, so he was searching for 'evidence' that did not exist. In many ways similar to the Jesus story, nothing seemed to be written about Muhammad and Mecca while he was alive, it all came decades after. The late Dr Patricia Crone has similar issues when she did similar research. Does raise many questions as history certainly was being recorded at the time, but nothing about this monumental event we are told occurred. A great read, and only criticism is that it could have been a tad shorter, and I would say that if anyone has problems getting past the first 100 pages, then read the last 100 pages first, it is well worth it,.

It's good. It's worth the read. Its something that needs to be talked about. I learned a lot about the history of the time prior to the Arab empire. A transition of rival clans to a people who coalesced into an empire.The received tradition of the origins of Islam being born in the full light of history is certainly false. The first histories about this vague figure called Mohammed were wrote between 200 - 300 years after the life of this figure, hence there is no certainty as to who he really was.There was some sort of Mohammed but the recieved tradition as to who he was is very much open to doubt. The koran only mentions the name Mohamed 4 times. Mohammed means the praised one. "This praised one" could even of been referring to Jesus, it's hard to know. We cant be certain about the begging of Islam because its seems that the histories concerning Mohammed have been revised by later Arab scholars.Tom Holland in his English way describes what we know of the origins of islam from a historical academic point of view. His history and his conclusion may scare some people but if truth is what you want then be brave and read this book.Islam is about to experience what the Christian world did over 150 years ago, a total unrelenting sceptical criticism of its truth claim and its origin. If you are interested in either history generally or the origins of Islam specifically then Tom Holland's book is a good place to start your journey.

An excellent read, which attempts to describe in detail the regional history and prevailing culture at the time of Mohamed's existence in the Arabian Peninsular. The book tries to assess the arrival of Islam asking the awkward question: did the Arab Empire create Islam or did Islam create the Arab Empire?For me, the one let down in this book is that Tom Holland is very selective about his choice of examples from history and is extremely erratic in his selections from history. This is confusing for the reader and even encourages one to believe that he is simply picking examples that support his various arguments - true or not. Tom Holland knows well that there are many people keen to pick holes in his beliefs and therefore he should be alot clearer and more honest in his presentation.That said, I recommend this book for a different view on an extremely interesting and influential part of history which still has consequences on our lives today.

Excellent book looking at a very interesting and relevant subject. There is also a documentary that accompanies the book that can be watched for free online here: https://vimeo.com/79053193The origins of Islam, like any other question, should be open to investigation and debate like the origins of any other religion or idea, and Tom Holland makes a great contribution to the public awareness and research.

A well written and excellent review of the early history of Christianity and Islam and the influences of other traditions and faiths on the emerging stories of these two major world religions. A half way house between a novel and a history. This work of scholarship throws a search light on myth, legend and belief and encourages a humanitarian understanding of the spiritual lives of believers today and their burden of history and tradition.