The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a… (2002)

This is a delightful romp through almost a thousand years of the Spanish history. It doesn't attempt to be comprehensive, but instead is a series of snapshots, with enough connections sketched in to keep the story coherent. The main theme is the notion of a first-class mind, from F. Scott Fitzgerald, applied here to cultures. There are four streams entangled - the three Abrahamic faiths along with the Greeks, mostly Aristotle.

I've seen references to the richness of Andalusian culture. This was a splendid way to dive in a little deeper. It leaves me with too many threads to follow! Never to be bored!

It was a strange enough coincidence that this book was written just before the attacks of 9/11/2001. That we seem to be getting trapped more tightly in battles over ideological purity is really sad. ( )

Maria Rosa Menocal, of Blessed Memory, added a crucial work to the body of community cooperation literature which should be read by all.

One of her comments which I found distressing (17 June, 2013, which was MEOW Date Saturday, June 16, 12,013 H.E.) was that "most people died alone" of the Black Plague. How aweful to see how readily our affections and ties to one another are abandoned.

But she also shows a culture of cooperation in her book which we can emulate today.
Peace,
ShiraD. ( )

Maria Rosa Menocal, of Blessed Memory, added a crucial work to the body of community cooperation literature which should be read by all.

One of her comments which I found distressing (17 June, 2013, which was MEOW Date Saturday, June 16, 12,013 H.E.) was that "most people died alone" of the Black Plague. How aweful to see how readily our affections and ties to one another are abandoned.

But she also shows a culture of cooperation in her book which we can emulate today.
Peace,
ShiraD. ( )

It's a pretty good. As this is something I know about, I got impatient with the fuzziness of the overview, and returned it to the library. But it's a nice intro for someone curious about Al-Andalus

A well-written and interesting history of Spain from the eighth to the seventeenth century with a focus on the multi-ethnic, multi-faith states in the Iberian peninsula under Muslim (and Christian) rule. After a concise, detailed history of the Caliphate and Visigothic Spain, she gives a sort of chronological episodic history of the next seven centuries, often focusing on particular individuals and their works. While these episodes feature an individual or two, she uses them to give a snapshot of the history and culture at that particular moment, with examples of philosophy, Kaballah, poetry, and music. At times I felt that she was being hagiographic, playing up the talents of specific men and the tolerance of a particular ruler or era, downplaying some of the intolerance that was going on, sometimes only making passing references to things like anti-Jewish rioting that resulted in massacres. I still appreciate her arguments that this was an extraordinary period with a confluence of circumstances, personalities, geography, and religious cultures. Highly recommended for those with an interest in the history of Islam, Christianity, the Middle Ages, and Spain (in fact, now I want to go back to Spain and see these Alhambras, cathedrals, and tombs!). ( )