Alexandria

The City that Changed the World: 'Monumental' Daily Telegraph

By: Islam Issa

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Paperback | 18 December 2024 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
496 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
19.6 x 12.8 x 3.7

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A SUNDAY TIMES AND TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR

On a sparsely populated Egyptian coastline, Alexander the Great sketched his vision of a metropolis into the sand. Situated on the cusp of three continents, it became the city where Greeks and Egyptians, Romans and Jews created a global knowledge capital that changed the face of philosophy, religion and science forever.

In this sweeping biography of the great city, Islam Issa takes us on a fascinating journey across millennia. Rich in big ideas, brutal tragedies and distinctive characters, Alexandria tells the gripping story of a city that has shaped our modern world.

About the Author

Professor Islam Issa is an award-winning British-Egyptian author, broadcaster and curator, recently named by the BBC as 'one of the UK's most significant new thinkers'. He is Professor of Literature and History at Birmingham City University, has written several academic books and curated internationally renowned exhibitions. As well as contributing to the Guardian, New Statesman and Times Literary Supplement, he has presented television and radio documentaries on the BBC and featured on such outlets as Netflix.

Industry Reviews

'In Islam Issa's monumental and vividly imagined new tale of the city, Alexandria comes to life . . . Issa's Alexandria arrives at 2011's Arab Spring having covered more than two millennia in just over 400 pages - no mean feat. But his real success is the book's sense of personality. It ends with Issa walking through the modern city that now stands on the ancient site, passing its markets and Art Deco cinemas. He writes about the present as vividly as the storied past. This book is a fitting tribute to a city that has survived, changed and grown for so many centuries - Daily Telegraph

Lively and well-researched - Times Literary Supplement

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.

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