I just finished reading Tamim Ansary's "Destiny Disrupted, A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes" and highly recommend it. Aside from providing a valuable narrative of a history that few Americans are familiar, the book helped me understand the most vexing issues of the day: the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iranian/American conflict, Afghanistan and Taliban. Ansary is a wise, gentle and compassionate guide who is in many ways as critical of Islam as he is the Western project. Give this book a read and, if you like it, pass the word.
Here's Ansary talking about his book on YouTube:
