'The book covers every side of Muslim life...a remarkable collection of new information, which will be of deep interest to students of European history' R.W. Southern, NEW YORK REVIEW
Turning the traditional focus of western scholarship on its head, Professor Bernard Lewis, author of The Middle East, What Went Wrong, The Crisis of Islam and one of the world's foremost experts on Islamic history, examines the sources and nature of Muslim knowledge of the West. His lively book explores the subtle ways in which Europe and Islam have influenced each other over seven centuries, retelling familiar historical events such as the battle of Lepanto and the siege of Vienna from an Arab perspective. Quoting from Islamic writers and scholars, he recounts their reactions to the West, their impressions of Western gardens, paintings, parliaments, hygiene, manners, and even the necklaces of western women.