Destiny Disrupted

A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes

De: Tamim Ansary

Narrado por: Tamim Ansary

“A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the Islamic world” (San Francisco Chronicle)

In Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as it looks from a new perspective: with the evolution of the Muslim community at the center. His story moves from the lifetime of Mohammed through a succession of far-flung empires, to the tangle of modern conflicts that culminated in the events of 9/11. He introduces the key people, events, ideas, legends, religious disputes, and turning points of world history, imparting not only what happened but how it is understood from the Muslim perspective.

He clarifies why two great civilizations-Western and Muslim-grew up oblivious to each other, what happened when they intersected, and how the Islamic world was affected by its slow recognition that Europe-a place it long perceived as primitive-had somehow hijacked destiny.

With storytelling brio, humor, and evenhanded sympathy to all sides of the story, Ansary illuminates a fascinating parallel to the world narrative usually heard in the West. Destiny Disrupted offers a vital perspective on world conflicts many now find so puzzling.

©2025 Tamim Ansary (P)2025 PublicAffairs

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Ansary has written an informative and thoroughly engaging look at the past, present and future of Islam. With his seamless and charming prose, he challenges conventional wisdom and appeals for a fuller understanding of how Islam and the world at large have shaped each other. And that makes this book, in this uneasy, contentious post 9/11 world, a must-read."

—Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns

"I'm in the middle of Tamim Ansary's Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes, and it's incredibly illuminating. Ansary pretty much covers the entire history of Islam in an incredibly readable and lucid way. I've been recommending this book to everyone I know. Especially when people are looking for a comprehensive-but-approachable way to look at world history through the lens of Islam, there's no better book."

—Dave Eggers, TheRumpus.net

"A lively, thorough and accessible survey of the history of Islam (both the religion and its political dimension) that explores many of the disconnects between Islam and the West."

—Shelf Awareness

You cannot know a person until you know how he sees himself.

I was enamored of the premise of this work from the moment I read its introduction. An Afghani kid from the US is going to explain the history of the world from the view of one of the other major cultures. I immediately imagined such a project for the Chinese world or the Indian.

I loved this book on my first read through, and when I saw that it was coming to audible I eagerly awaited its release. To a great extent it continues to inform my understanding of Arab, Turkish and Farsi attitudes in the modern world.

Although I of course disagree with the author’s understanding of the events since the start of the 20th century, this work is, by definition, one of perspective, and even that disagreement is, in a way, vindicating.