The Venture of Islam, Volume 1: The Classical Age of Islam by Marshall G. S. Hodgson

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The Venture of Islam has been honored as a magisterial work of the mind since its publication in early 1975. In this three-volume study, illustrated with charts and maps, Hodgson traces and interprets the historical development of Islamic civilization from before the birth of Muhammad to the middle of the twentieth century. This work grew out of the famous course on Islamic civilization that Hodgson created and taught for many years at the University of Chicago.""This is a nonpareil work, show more not only because of its command of its subject but also because it demonstrates how, ideally, history shou show less

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aasembakhshi 260 reviews

A reviewer's remark of 'Poorly Written' actually provoked me to write this review. Venture of Islam is a remarkable book from any perspective, i.e., religious writing, literary style or simple lucidity of expression. The first 69 pages are my all time favorite as far as an introduction to sociology of religion in general and Islamic vocabulary in particular. I have just finished the first volume having read many parts for the second time. Hodgson's take on the political history of early Muslim period is perhaps the strongest part of this volume; whereas, his take on Islamic theology and philosophy is perhaps the weakest. I suspect that this is not because of his lack of command on the subject but the extraordinary historical detail from show more which he has to pick and choose for drawing his conclusions. I think any serious reader of Islamic history and culture should not miss it. I would let this volume sink in before I get my hands on the second one. show less

Aug 3, 2025

MeditationesMartini 2,425 reviews

HOW does THIS GUY know THIS MUCH STUFF??!!?!

Jul 16, 2018

knotbox 516 reviews

Recommended by Caitlin M. Gale https://twitter.com/DrCaitlinMGale/status/700344074176503809

Apr 10, 2025