"This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Middle Easts present and who might be hopeful for the regions future." * Middle East Journal * "Seeking to counter contemporary perceptions of the Middle East as a region riven by sectarian strife, Makdisi examines the culture of coexistence which he believes prevailed in the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world, despite its religious diversity." * Survival: Global Politics and Strategy * "An outstanding study with insight about the agency of Arab intellectuals, thinkers and people at large who, despite twentieth-century local and global violence, persist in struggling for a better world. This is a must- read for all scholars and students of Middle East and cultural studies." * Arab Studies Quarterly * "A hugely important corrective to widespread stereotypes about relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews before Israel's creation." * Peter Beinart * "Beyond the excellent historical work in which Makdisi engages, his profound rewriting of narratives of sectarianism and coexistence will have a great impact on readers understanding of the modern Middle East. . . . Offers hope for an existence that does not distinguish between Muslim and non-Muslim or Jew and non-Jew but aims to humanize those who have been seen as inferior." * Islam and ChristianMuslim Relations * "One of the salient contributions of the Age of Coexistence is how Makdisi writes a history that the existing scholarship has either taken for granted or failed to critically examine. . . . Indispensable reading for graduate students entering the field of Middle Eastern history." * Bustan: The Middle East Book Review * "This is clearly an essential book. . . . There are many lessons to learn from this study with regard to how regions and their peoples, their ethno-religious identities, and their politics are approached, investigated, and narrated." * Journal of Historical Geography * "What Makdisi has accomplished here is truly impressive. . . .It is my hope that as it spreads in classrooms and in public discourse, The Age of Coexistence will serve the final blow to Western-based stereotypes of a Middle East rife with senseless violence, authoritarianism, and strict religious rule." * International Journal of Middle East Studies * "Offers a fresh look at the making of the modern Arab world. Given the plethora of studies that focus on contemporary wars and sectarian violence, this well-researched study employs Arabic and Western resources that challenge the prevailing perceptions about the region and its people. . . . An outstanding study with insight about the agency of Arab intellectuals, thinkers and people at large who, despite twentieth-century local and global violence, persist in struggling for a better world. This is a must-read for all scholars and students of Middle East and cultural studies." * Arab Studies Quarterly * "A major achievement. . . . This is historical analysis whose reframing of the past genuinely helps to offer possibilities for imagining future forms of coexistence." * World History Connected *
