yale

autumn

winter

2010

History

In Ishmael’s House

A History of Jews in Muslim LandsMartin Gilbert

The relationship between Jews and Muslims has been a flashpoint thataffects stability in the Middle East and has consequences around theglobe. In this absorbing and eloquent book Martin Gilbert challengesthe standard media portrayal and presents a fascinating account of hope, opportunity, fear and terror that have characterised these twopeoples through the 1400 years of their intertwined history.Harking back to the Biblical story of Ishmael and Isaac, Gilbert takesthe reader from the origins of the fraught relationship—the refusal of Medina’s Jews to accept Mohammed as a Prophet—through the ages of the Crusader re-conquest of the Holy Land and the great Muslimsultanates to the present day. He explores the impact of Zionism in thefirst half of the 20th century, the clash of nationalisms during theSecond World War, the mass expulsions and exodus of 800,000 Jewsfrom Muslim lands following the birth of Israel, the Six-Day War andits aftermath and the political sensitivities of the current Middle East.

In Ishmael’s House

sheds light on a time of prosperity and opportunity for Jews in Muslim lands stretching from Morocco to Afghanistan, withmany instances of Muslim openness, support and courage. Drawing on Jewish, Christian and Muslim sources, Gilbert uses archived material,poems, letters, memoirs and personal testimony to uncover the humanvoice of this centuries-old conflict. Ultimately, Gilbert’s movingaccount of mutual tolerance between Muslims and Jews provides aperspective on current events and a template for the future.

Translation rights: McClelland & Stewart, Toronto

August320 pp. 234x156mm. 30 b/w illus.

ISBN 978-0-300-16715-3 £25.00*

Sir Martin Gilbert

is the author ofmore than eighty books, including thesix-volume authorised biography ofWinston Churchill, the twin histories

First World War

and

Second World War

Israel: A History

The Holocaust

A History of the Twentieth Century

inthree volumes, and nine pioneeringhistorical atlases, including

Atlas of Jewish History

and

Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

. In 1995, he wasknighted for services to British historyand international relations, and in2009 was appointed to the BritishGovernment’s Iraq War Inquiry.

A powerful account of Jewsliving in Muslim lands andthe surprising truths abouttheir shared history