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#3036758 in Books Patricia Crone 2012-06-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x 1.26 x 5.98l; 2.05 #File Name: 110701879X586 pagesNativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant!By Kindle CustomerAnyone interested in this time; region or topic; should add this brilliant original book to their academic library. Additionally; Patricia Crone can write well; so at certain points; I lifted my head from the page and asked; "Why hasn't someone made a movie out of this?" In my lifetime of extensive academic reading; this is has not been a common reaction. Usually; I get another double espresso latte as the turgid historical landscape unfurls;but with Crone; I yelp and gurgle; and mutter; "Well; I never knew that!" until the other patrons of the coffee shop ease slowly away from me.Yes; she assumes you have some basic background; yes; she toddles off into all sorts of unexpected directions; yes; one might quibble with translations or assumptions; or violently object to interpretations; but she kicks starts even the jaded academic into reassessing; pawing through references; and even - I blush and shudder - hitting Wiki; Get this book; dear reader in or out of the field; and get it now.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Philip LeetchI found it fascinating- such erudition; careful analysis and intriguing material. A gem.17 of 17 people found the following review helpful. Dense But InterestingBy R. AlbinAn impressive work of scholarship in which Crone attempts to reconstruct crucial features of traditional Iranian religion from a close reading of a variety of Arabic; Persian; Chinese; and other texts. The result is considerably more than one would expect as Crone's work reveals a great deal about the history of religion in a broad swath of the Middle East and Central Asia. This is a very scholarly book in several respects. Crone's careful interpretative work clearly provides considerable new insights. Most of the book; however; was written with her fellow specialists in mind and is pretty heavy going for general readers.For a non-specialist reader like myself; I think there are 3 particularly interesting features. First; Crone shows the remarkably diverse and highly interactive world of religious thought across a broad swathe of time and geographically from the eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia. This includes native Iranian traditions such as those that gave rise to Zoroasterianism; the influence of Platonism and Buddhism; and less familiar traditions such as Manicheanism; and various strains of Gnosticism and Islam. How these diverse traditions interacted is quite interesting. Second; there is interesting discussion of Zoroasterianism in both its official and popular forms - something that will be unfamiliar to many readers. Finally; Crone has some very interesting analysis of the role of popular religion; messianic traditions; and the role of religion in traditional societies and its relation to states. For general readers; this part is probably the most interesting and I wish Crone had incorporated more higher level analysis into the book.Overall; an important work of scholarship that can probably be read selectively depending on the reader's interests. While I read this book cover to cover; Crone provides a useful outline of the text in her introduction which is a very good guide to how to read the book selectively.
