Walmsley (Islamic archaeology and art, Carsten Niebuhr Institute, U. of Copenhagen, Denmark) summarizes the current issues and knowledge of the early Islamic era of Syria-Palestine (defined as the current areas of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and a small part of southern Turkey). He takes a two-pronged approach to the subject, presenting a chronological examination of socio-economic conditions in the first 50 years before the Islamic expansion and an issue-based treatment of such questions as material culture and settlement profiles. Annotation 2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
