Maimonides in His World: Portrait Of A Mediterranean Thinker (Jews, Christians, And Muslims From The Ancient To The Modern World): 34 Paperback – 20 Nov. 2011

This is a book of absolutely ground-breaking, exciting scholarship. Unlike other recent Maimonides scholars (e.g. the brilliant Herbert Davidson) who take a somewhat reductive approach to the evidence for Maimonides' cultural framework, Stroumsa paints a rich and deep picture of Maimonides as a Mediterranean thinker, not only deeply engaged in the Islamic philosophical culture of his time, but contributing creatively to it. Of the many fascinating insights in the different chapters, the most startling is the one that shows the deep Almohad influence on Maimonides in the fields of philosophy, law and dogmatics.This is not a book for Maimonides beginners - some familiarity with Arabic thought is helpful. There are also some typographical errors (once Alomohad, for example), but for scholarship of this quality, the book is beautifully written and pleasurable to read. The implications for appreciating the interaction of Jewish and Islamic culture are momentous and inspiring.

Anyone wishing to understand the intellectual world of the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages needs to understand something of this amazing, 12th century, Jewish thinker from Muslim Spain. Sarah Stroumsa's book is an ideal introduction to his thoughts and to their influence upon the three Abrahamic faiths.