‘In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire’\r\nBy Tom Holland"} 5f:{"type":"p","text":"Islam is one of the powerful forces in today’s world. One of the newest of the major monotheistic religions, it exploded from the desert in the 7th century. This book examines Islam’s origins. It offers a fresh appraisal, yielding an original interpretation of Islam’s evolution, placing the origins of Islam into its historical context, and showing how other religions shaped it. Buttressed with solid research, it tells a startlingly different story from accepted versions. Well worth reading."} 60:{"type":"p","text":"Anchor, 2013, 560 pages\r\n

Biography

\r\n $\"\"$ \r\n

‘Mark Twain’

\r\nBy Ron Chernow"} 61:{"type":"p","text":"The literary giant is brought back to life by one of America’s most accomplished biographers. It’s impossible not to know who Mark Twain is. His fictional characters, like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, have become part of the American vernacular. Chernow, though, goes beyond Twain’s famous works and his characters. Readers are able to pry into the brilliant, humorous, burdensome, and grief-filled private life of one of America

Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for July 11–17

Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for July 4–10

Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for June 27–July 3

‘American Canopy’ Motivates Readers to Take a Walk in the Woods