Review
"Crackling with good storytelling across more than two millennia, this is a love letter that makes us long for Alexandria."--Paul Edmondson, author of Shakespeare: Ideas in Profile
"A fascinating and much-needed book about this singular city written with vibrancy and skill. Issa's personal knowledge and passion for Alexandria, past and present, shine through every sentence."--Violet Moller, author of The Map of Knowledge
"A comprehensive history of a city that has served as a 'representative illustration of some of history's most consequential empires.' An Alexandrian by birth, Issa relates his native city's past principally through attention to its most famous figures and rulers. A well-researched, readable history of one of the world's oldest and most consequential cities."--Kirkus Reviews
"Had things gone differently for Antony and Cleopatra, then today we would be lauding the glories of Alexandria instead of Rome. But Islam Issa refuses to see Alexandria as an also-ran and does a fine job in this book of guiding us through Alexandria's long, colourful, rarely peaceful, past. By evoking the splendours of its palaces, temples, libraries, churches, museums, synagogues, mosques, bazaars, dance halls and cafes, the book provides a multifaceted history of an enthralling city."--Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Professor of Ancient History, Cardiff University and author of Persians: the Age of the Great Kings
"Islam Issa's Alexandria: The City that Changed the World is the book on this amazing city that I've long been waiting for. It's wonderfully easy to read, solidly researched, and totally engaging"--Philip Freeman, Professor of Humanities, Pepperdine University and author of Hannibal: Rome's Greatest Enemy
"In Islam Issa's monumental and vividly imagined new tale of the city, Alexandria comes to life. This book is a fitting tribute to a city that has survived, changed and grown for so many centuries."--The Telegraph
"Islam Issa's Alexandria is a fabulous book, in every sense of that word. It is a history of the city, of its multitudinous people, of its heroes and villains, of its Library and its Pharos, down through the ages to his own family and his life growing up there. It is a cornucopia of fascinating details, every page revealing a new delight. A work of brilliant and informed scholarship, as well as being a labour of love. It is as if Islam Issa was born to write this book."--Paul Strathern, author of The Borgias and The Medici
"Islam Issa's history takes the city from Alexander's transformation of an Egyptian fishing village around 331 BC through its multiple subsequent lives ... Issa, an Alexandrian himself, is an assured narrator with an easy manner, who unearths myths and stories that give vivid life to his more sober account of Alexandria's travails and triumphs"--The New Statesman
"A lively chronicle of one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities from its beginnings almost two and a half millennia ago to the present. Issa vividly recounts invasions by the Crusaders, Ottomans, French, and British, and shows how in the modern era Alexandria continued in its role as a cultural hub and social and religious melting pot. This impressively researched account reveals a captivating city through the ages."--Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Islam Issa is an award-winning British-Egyptian writer, curator and broadcaster, and was recently named by the BBC as "one of the United Kingdom's most significant new thinkers." He is Professor of Literature and History at Birmingham City University, has authored several academic books and contributes regularly to the Guardian, the New Statesman, and the Times Literary Supplement.
