Leo Africanus - by Amin Maalouf (Paperback)

About the Book

Exile and pilgrimage, the power of sexual love and family bonds, the savagery of war, and the profundity of religious passions are masterfully evoked in this tale of one man's journey, set against the splendor of the Renaissance and the vast tapestry of Muslim and Christian empires.

Book Synopsis

An imaginary autobiography of the famous geographer, adventurer, and scholar Hasan al-Wazzan. He wrote the first trilingual dictionary and Description of Africa.

Review Quotes

Absoutely facinating-an evocation of a lost world. Leo's travels among the Moslems, Christians and Jews in his time shed startling light on our present dilemmas.

Leo Africanus is a beautiful book of tales about people who are forced to accept choices made for them by someone else...It relates, poetically at times and often imaginatively, the story of those who did not make it to the New World.

Utterly fascinating.

About the Author

Amin Maalouf, a Lebanese writer, was editor-in-chief of Jeune Afrique. He is the author of The Crusades Through Arab Eyes and several novels.