Lesley Hazleton Knihy

In this gripping narrative history, Lesley Hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, a rift that dominates the news now more than ever. Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue, and passionate faith. Soon Islam was embroiled in civil war, pitting its founder's controversial wife Aisha against his son-in-law Ali, and shattering Muhammad’s ideal of unity. Combining meticulous research with compelling storytelling, After the Prophet explores the volatile intersection of religion and politics, psychology and culture, and history and current events. It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of the Shia–Sunni split.

Leaving her home in Seattle in mid-summer to drive 'the long way round' to the Detroit auto show, Lesley Hazleton embarks on a journey to visit the holy places for cars - where they are raced, displayed, crashed, tested and made - as she seeks to understand our deep fascination with automobiles. Her quest takes her on a road trip that teaches her not only about cars and the peculiar passions of car lovers but also about herself. Halfway through this extraordinary adventure, Hazleton's father, the man who taught her to drive, dies suddenly, and her trip becomes a journey of grief and memory.

The extraordinary life of the man who founded Islam, and the world he inhabited--and remade. Muhammad's was a life of almost unparalleled historical importance; yet for all the iconic power of his name, the intensely dramatic story of the prophet of Islam is not well known. Hazleton brings him vibrantly to life.

For nearly three thousand years, Jezebel has been invoked as the ultimate femme fatale, the embodiment of wanton wickedness. But Lesley Hazleton's stunning retelling of her story creates a radically different portrait, one with startling contemporary resonance. The moment the Phoenician princess Jezebel arrives in Israel for her wedding to King Ahab, the alliance is denounced by the prophet Elijah. The new queen and the feared prophet go head to head in a dramatic and bloody conflict pitting polytheism against monotheism, tolerance against righteousness, pragmatism against ideology. In a nonfiction narrative as vivid and engrossing as Anita Diamant's bestselling novelThe Red Tent,Hazleton reveals the real story of the downfall of a powerful woman, and how its consequences reverberate to the present day.

"A widely admired writer on religion celebrates agnosticism as the most vibrant, engaging--and ultimately the most honest--stance toward the mysteries of existence." -- Amazon.com.