In today’s tense geopolitical climate; terrorist groups avow their allegiance to the Islamic faith in their edicts; while the president of the United States undertakes controversial wars in Islamic nations and openly refers to his Christian faith as a key component of his decision-making. With the recent surge in terrorist acts and military confrontations; as well as ever-strengthening fundamentalist ideologies on both sides; the Christian-Muslim divide is perhaps more visible than ever—but it is not new. Alan G. Jamieson explores here the long and bloody history of the Christian-Muslim conflict; revealing in his concise yet comprehensive study how deeply this ancient divide is interwoven with crucial events in world history. Faith and Sword opens with the tumultuous first centuries of the conflict; examining the religious precepts that framed clashes between Christians and Muslims and that ultimately fueled the legendary Crusades. Traversing the full breadth of the Arab lands and Christendom; Jamieson chronicles the turbulent saga from the Arab conquests of the seventh century to the rise of the powerful Ottoman Empire and its fall at the end of World War I. Faith and Sword then explores the complex dynamics that emerged later in the twentieth century; as Christendom was transformed into the secular West and Islamic nations overthrew European colonialism to establish governments straddling modernity and religiosity.From the 1979 Iranian revolution to the Lebanon hostage crisis to the present-day war in Iraq; Faith and Sword reveals the essence of this enduring struggle and its consequences.
#1899456 in Books 2004-01-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.20 x .80 x 6.20l; 1.00 #File Name: 1857801563280 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Counting the Cost...Volume 8!By Mike O'ConnorW. R. Chorley continues his masterful summary of RAF bomber losses with this 2003 volume covering Heavy Conversion Units and miscellaneous units. Whereas volumes 1 through 6 focused on the 1939-1945 period; Volume 8 details losses incurred from 1939 to 1947. As with the preceding volumes; Chorley has brought together enormous amounts of information from a wide variety of sources to produce a concise; admittedly dry yet occasionally poignant accounting of RAF aircraft and aircrew losses.Volume 8 runs to 269 pages. It covers Heavy Conversion Units; Squadron Conversion Flights; Heavy Conversion Flights; Lancaster Finishing Schools; Ferry Training Units and assorted units. To those unfamiliar with RAF organization; Heavy Conversion Units were first created in 1941 when four-engined bombers - Stirlings; Halifaxes; Lancasters and later B-17s and B-24s - began entering RAF service. They helped convert medium bomber crews to the newly-introduced 'heavies' before passing them on to Operational Training Units. Although most of the losses documented in Volume 8 came during training flights; some HSUs did occasionally fly combat and suffered losses to AAA or fighters. No. 1651 HSU; for example; fly 49 ops in 1941; losing five crews.In any case; Volume 8 follows Chorley's established format: a day-by-day listing of losses further subdivided by squadron. Information given includes aircraft type; serial number; crew members/status (KIA; POW; etc); aircraft unit code and a brief summary of the loss. The loss report of the 1653 HSU Lancaster III which crashed fatally on 8 April 1945; for example; states: "Aircraft took off North Luffenham for fighter affiliation. Lost control and crashed at 1515 hours near Scraptoft on the eastern outskirts of Leicester. The six crew were all lost."Though the BOMBER COMMAND LOSSES volumes are obviously intended for reference; Chorley still manages to insert brief personal bits of info in entries that puts a human face on the dry statistics. Paging through the books in this series is a sobering experience. Volume 8; for example; documents over 1;200 aircraft losses which translates to thousands of young men killed. It underlines the sacrifice made by RAF aircrew whether in HSUs or operational squadrons made during World War II. All in all; a tremendous effort on Chorley's part. Recommended.
