Reader recommendation: The Caliph's Splendor
Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.
June 4, 2015
The Caliph’s Splendor, by Benson Bobrick, detailing the 8th-century caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, made me more aware of how far Islam spread, even into the Caucasus. There, it continues to cause tension for Russia’s government today, even as it did for the caliph in his day.