
The Race for Paradise
An Islamic History of the Crusades
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $29.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Paul M. Cobb
-
By:
-
Paul M. Cobb
In 1099, when the first Frankish invaders arrived before the walls of Jerusalem, they had carved out a Christian European presence in the Islamic world that endured for centuries, bolstered by subsequent waves of new crusaders and pilgrims. The story of how this group of warriors, driven by faith, greed, and wanderlust, created new Christian-ruled states in parts of the Middle East is one of the best-known in history. Yet it offers not even half of the story, for it is based almost exclusively on Western sources and overlooks entirely the perspective of the crusaded. How did medieval Muslims perceive what happened?
In The Race for Paradise, Paul M. Cobb offers a new history of the confrontations between Muslims and Franks we now call the "Crusades", one that emphasizes the diversity of Muslim experiences of the European holy war. There is more to the story than Jerusalem, the Templars, Saladin, and the Assassins. Cobb considers the Arab perspective on all shores of the Muslim Mediterranean, from Spain to Syria. In the process, he shows that this is not a straightforward story of warriors and kings clashing in the Holy Land, but a more complicated tale of border-crossers and turncoats; of embassies and merchants; of scholars and spies, all of them seeking to manage a new threat from the barbarian fringes of their ordered world. When seen from the perspective of medieval Muslims, the Crusades emerge as something altogether different from the high-flying rhetoric of the European chronicles: as a cultural encounter to ponder, a diplomatic chess-game to be mastered, a commercial opportunity to be seized, and as so often happened, a political challenge to be exploited by ambitious rulers making canny use of the language of jihad.
The Race for Paradise fills a significant historical gap, considering in a new light the events that distinctively shaped Muslim experiences of Europeans until the close of the Middle Ages.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2014 Paul M. Cobb (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















If you could sum up The Race for Paradise in three words, what would they be?
Objective and thoroughly researched.If you’ve listened to books by Paul M. Cobb before, how does this one compare?
Unfortunately, I have no basis for comparison.What three words best describe Paul M. Cobb’s voice?
I don't like this question. He was a competent narrator and was certainly more than capable of holding the listeners attention...but he's no Morgan Freeman. That's not a slight, it's just the truth. Unfortunately Morgan Freeman can't just read every audio book for us. This guy did the best job he could given that he isn't Morgan Freeman.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
NoAny additional comments?
The author seeks to recount the story of the Crusades from the prospective of the Muslim world. He does a good job of distinguishing the differences between the two perspectives for the less knowledgeable reader. It was well written, well researched and easy to understand. The author was very objective and did not seek to demonize either side which makes the material understandably dry. The book simply recounts the actions of both sides based on the source documents which makes it a great listen for students or for those seeking personal knowledge on the topic but not ideal for those looking for an interesting weekend read.An interesting prespective
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What made the experience of listening to The Race for Paradise the most enjoyable?
The reading of the book was done exquisitely. Proper tone and voice inflection made this an interesting book to listen to.Who was your favorite character and why?
Sulamid was my favorite character as he was a great and fair ruler as depicted by the book.Have you listened to any of Paul M. Cobb’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Yes I have. This performance compares superb.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I was moved to hear the vanquishing of the Muslim religion in Sicily.Any additional comments?
Very informative.Entertaining
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great Book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A heady piece of history and a romp.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved the introductory and concluding chapters of this book. I am not really a lover of tactical military or even political history per se, so I did find myself a bit phasing out during long chapters describing blow-by-blows of how one series of battles between the Franks (the Arabic word for the Christian invaders was of course "Ferengi"!) and the Muslims in one area played out. The range from Sicily to Spain to Italy and even northern and Slavic Europe to the Middle East and beyond was breathtaking and fascinating.
The framing of the book was important: Cobb wants not just to complete the record of medieval history, and "tell the other side" of that history, but to encourage broadening our historical view generally to include more of the actual big world debates during this time, and especially to demote the Crusades from their current status in the West (in particular) as some sort of "Culture Clash Origin" event - and to this end he points out how specific each of the arguments, meetings, battles really were, and how wrapped up in things other than religion of culture on both sides. This is of course really useful, since it ramps down modern rhetorical stances and gives us a chance to stop abusing history. I personally would have liked more of a focus on social history, trade, diplomacy writ small, and the network of connections of interdependence between the "Franks" and the "Muslims." So I will be following up hints of this in other books.
For someone who enjoys battle histories, and wants a bigger picture of the Crusades that is trying to avoid political slant while taking into account the modern world and its connection (or not) to medieval clashes and the empires and caliphates embroiled in them, this is a really good account. The relevance to current mideastern conversation and rhetoric around the significance of leaders like Saladin, Roger, and many other prominent figures on both sides who should be better known, is addressed frequently, and Cobb is interested in showing how modern clashes are extremely different from the clashes at the time, and how incorrect modern western interpretations of concepts like "jihad" and "caliph" and so forth really are. Overall a good read, but I want more social, literary, and science history personally. I feel like the actual sources have only been brushed upon--especially when I got to the Epilogue and Cobb started talking about an exemplary person in 1492 or do who was Muslim but had lived under Frankish rule and was well educated on both sides... why can't more of this be included and less battle strategy? Lol . Anyway, good read. Looking for more.
Great overview and framing of situation, but strong emphasis on military and political history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Yes. I learned a lot about the crusades from a perspective that's not usually discussed in this much detailsWould you recommend The Race for Paradise to your friends? Why or why not?
Yes. Again, I think it offers a great new perspective.Which scene was your favorite?
The one where everyone kills each other.Did The Race for Paradise inspire you to do anything?
NoInteresting well-supported thesis and viewpoint
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
chronology not a history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.