Muslim Spain and Portugal : a political history of Al-Andalus /

Kennedy has written a respectably solid narrative sweep of Muslim Iberia from its conquest in 711 to the fall of Granada in 1492. His work seems intended as a classroom text, since its notes are limited, although he clearly integrates the major Arabic chronicles into his story. The area of geographic coverage steadily narrows as the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula pursue their absorption of Islamic lands. Kennedy's book adheres primarily to political and institutional evolution, in contrast to other general accounts that stress the cultural and social aspects of the Hispanic Muslim world, and thus it fills a genuine need. The work is longer and less readable than Richard Fletcher's recent study, but it is clear in its account of the complex political ambient in the wake of the decentralization generated by the creation of the Taifa states in 1031. The Christian world receives a useful but uneven account, reflected in a spotty bibliography covering that history, although it exceeds in quality the coverage of its competitors. Includes valuable tables of the various ruling houses. Strongly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. F. Powers; College of the Holy Cross