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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
'Ornament...' or: 'How not to write History' I would like to believe Menocal wrote this with the best of intentions, to sentimentally show us what our society could be, cosmopolitan, colourful and cultured. Sadly, her ahistorical technique serves only its self-defeat. Her graven gushing, rather than reinforcing, is an affront to the achievements of certain aspects of society in Medieval Iberia (which were both real and impressive) as it renders them unbelievable, precisely so, because her depictions bear no relation to reality. Her ignorance of the... more info
A thoroughly enjoyable read. I have to say, negative reviews notwithstanding, that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I too had just returned from Andalusia and wanted to read more about the area and it's history. I did several searches on Amazon using various key-words and every time this book came up. I must admit I was a bit put off by the reviews but the table of contents looked intriguing (good move there Amazon!) and so I thought I'd take a chance. After all a book reveiew is only 1 person's opinion. Well I'm glad I did now.... more info
A nice idea, but.... If you're looking for a history of culture and civilisation in Spain 711-1492, the period when Spain was partly or mostly under Islamic rule, this isn't it. Still less does it give an overall political framework. It's not meant to.
Professor Menocal has set herself the task of enlightening us about the cultural diversity, and artistic, architectural and intellectual excellence of the era, based as it was on a remarkable level of religious tolerance. Her regret at the loss of this religious toleration... more info
A Fairy Story This is a misleading book, if you don't know anything about the historical background. It offers a romantic view of a period of history that it is obscure to the majority of people. This is a book about a tolerance that did not exist. To quote Joseph Perez : "We need to challenge the preconception of a Spain in which the three religions based on sacred books - Christian, Muslim and Jewish - existed tolerantly together throughout the first centuries of Muslim domination....Tolerance presupposes an absence of... more info
