Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires by Mackintosh-Smith, Tim

A SUNDAY TIMES AND TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Masterly and brilliant"—Simon Sebag Montefiore

"A book of vast scope and stunning insight."—Anthony Sattin, Spectator  

This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of Arab history and shines a light on the footloose Arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances. Tracing this process to the origins of the Arabic language, rather than the advent of Islam, Tim Mackintosh-Smith begins his narrative more than a thousand years before Muhammad and focuses on how Arabic, both spoken and written, has functioned as a vital source of shared cultural identity over the millennia.

Mackintosh-Smith reveals how linguistic developments—from pre-Islamic poetry to the growth of script, Muhammad’s use of writing, and the later problems of printing Arabic—have helped and hindered the progress of Arab history, and investigates how, even in today’s politically fractured post–Arab Spring environment, Arabic itself is still a source of unity and disunity.

Review

“Although Mackintosh-Smith’s book is perfectly scholarly, it is not a dutiful plod through a succession of slaughtered sultans and viziers or a tallying of gains and losses in forgotten battles in unpronounceable places. On the contrary, Arabs keeps throwing out brilliant insights, like sparks from a Catherine wheel.”—Robert Irwin, Literary Review

“A fascinating and richly detailed chronicle of Arab language and culture offers some thought-provoking historical parallels”—Ian Black, The Observer

“Commanding erudition and a swashbuckling style define this history of the Arabs”—Justin Marozzi, The Sunday Times

"Sweeping book [. . .] It addresses vital questions of Arab identity and nationhood. There can hardly be a better guide than Mackintosh-Smith, who has near- mythical status among western observers of the Middle East"—Richard Spencer, The Times Ireland

"[Mackintosh-Smith] is ideally positioned to make the tangled past vividly present. . . . [He] handles his complex account with great aplomb."—Eric Ormsby, Wall Street Journal

“A long time in the making, Tim Mackintosh-Smith’s erudite study, Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires was worth the wait”—Justin Marozzi, Evening Standard (Best summer holiday reads)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (February 4, 2020)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 656 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300251637

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300251630

Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.5 x 7.75 inches

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