This is an auction for IN THE SHADOW OF THE SWORD: THE BATTLE FOR GLOBAL EMPIRE AND THE END OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, by Tom Holland.

"This is a book of extraordinary richness. I found myself amused, diverted and enchanted by turn. A spell-bindingly brilliant multiple portrait of the triumph of monotheism in the ancient world."

• The Independent (UK)

Amazon.com review:

“No less significant than the collapse of the Roman Republic or the Persian invasion of Greece, the evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. Just like the Romans, the Arabs came from nowhere to carve out a vast dominion—except that they achieved their conquests not over the course of centuries as the Romans did but in a matter of decades. Just like the Greeks during the Persian wars, they overcame seemingly insuperable odds to emerge triumphant against the greatest empire of the day—not by standing on the defensive, however, but by hurling themselves against all who lay in their path.”

More very favourable reviews on Amazon.com.

Large format (trade) paperback 2012.

526 pages + photographs and maps.

Very good condition.

The cost of shipping is $4.95, or $6.95 by tracked mail. If you are on rural delivery and want tracked mail, the shipping cost will be $9.95.

There is of course no charge for shipping if you collect this book from my shop in Palmerston North following the auction.

Payment within seven days, please.