Few books do a semblance of justice in capturing the essence of a period spanning several thousand years. This book is a serious attempt to shed light on the hidden aspects of Arab History.

The original long-held common viewpoint is that Islam is the proper starting point of the people we now call Arabs. There were arabs before Arabs. People living on the margins formed a melting pot in which ethnic homogeneity was an alien concept. The whole identity surrounding Arabness was imposed from without. People in Yemen, for instance, were not arabs.

Their great civilisation- a settled way of life with its own elaborate irrigation system, and complex web of cultures- first came in contact with the nomads, or raiders, to oust their rivals. The contrast between the settled and nomadic is prominent in such encounters. Starting from before the time of Imr ul Qays, arabs acted in the criss-cross of imperial powers: Romans & Persians.

At the point of contact between the imperial strongholds is how high Arabic came into being. High Arabic was what made the arabs Arabs. The process reached a crescendo with the Quran. The progression only resulted in shared understanding about a common origin for the Arabs. Periods of intellectual splendour as well as grotesque violence dotted the shared history.

With Islam, Arabs connected the world together and ushered in a new process of globalisation that saw advances in science and trade. The international culture brought with it the seeds of division and intrigue, pitting one group against another. Arab people need to explore their history deeply to build a future on it.

It was a very enjoyable read.