The Rock - (Vintage International) by Kanan Makiya (Paperback)

About the Book

A brilliantly imagined, historically based account of the building of the Dome of the Rock explores the convergence of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam that occurred during its creation. Illustrations throughout.

Book Synopsis

The Rock of Jerusalem is one of the world's most spiritually resonant and politically contentious sites: where Adam first stepped upon leaving Paradise, Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac, Jesus preached, and Muhammad began his night journey to heaven, . Sorting through the rubble of the three competing faiths, Kanan Makiya has woven a vivid tapestry from centuries of legend and belief to imagine the origins of Islam's first monument, the Dome of the Rock. A narrative of mythic power, The Rock offers a grand tour of seventh-century Jerusalem and-by reminding us of how much Jews and Muslims once shared-serves as a bracing talisman for our times.

Review Quotes

"Masterly. . . . [Full of] pathos, lyricism and depth." -The New York Times Book Review

"Powerful. . . . Full of wonders. . . . Dares to examine exactly when, why and how the outcrop of stone that was believed to be the site of the ancient temple of Solomon-already sacred to both Judaism and Christianity-was first claimed as a holy place by Islam . . . thus establishing Jerusalem as ground zero in the bloody and enduring conflict among the three great monotheistic faiths. . . . Could not be more timely." -Los Angeles Times

"Important and imaginative. . . . Solid, interesting, accessible, and highly illuminating." -The Washington Post Book World

About the Author

Born in Baghdad, Kanan Makiya is the author of Republic of Fear, Post-Islamic Classicism, The Monument, and Cruelty and Silence, which was awarded the 1993 Lionel Gelber Prize fro the best book on international relations. He has written for The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Independent, The Times (London), and The Times Literary Supplement. A trained architect, he is a founding director of The Iraq Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that facilitates research toward a democratic Iraq. He has collaborated on two films for television, one of which, Saddam's Killing Fields, received the 1992 Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Television Documentary on Foreign Affairs. Makiya currently directs the Iraq Research and Documentation Project at Harvard University and teaches at Brandeis University. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.