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We live in such a politically correct world, and since Muslims are being coddled all over the world, I'm sure history books abound that give a softer view of the religion of "peace."

Are there any books that you would recommend for just factual history of Islam?

Thanks so much!!

Try The “Enemy at The Gate” a facinating and really well written Book of the Ottomans and their defeat at the Gate of Vienna. It is so well done I have read it at least 4 times over the years. 1683, an Ottoman army that stretched from horizon to horizon set out to seize the “Golden Apple,” as Turks referred to Vienna. The ensuing siege pitted battle-hardened Janissaries wielding seventeenth-century grenades against Habsburg armies, widely feared for their savagery. The walls of Vienna bristled with guns as the besieging Ottoman host launched bombs, fired cannons, and showered the populace with arrows during the battle for Christianity’s bulwark. Each side was sustained by the hatred of its age-old enemy, certain that victory would be won by the grace of God.

The Great Siege of Vienna is the centerpiece for historian Andrew Wheatcroft’s richly drawn portrait of the centuries-long rivalry between the Ottoman and Habsburg empires for control of the European continent. A gripping work by a master historian, The Enemy at the Gate offers a timely examination of an epic clash of civilizations.

I grew up as a teenager living in the Emirates and have always sought to understand the intricacies of that culture. I would forgo Bernard Lewis - too textbook like and Arabist sympathies there.

I second going to Fortress of Faith and downloading their Saturday broadcasts for free. hit info button and mp3 download is available.

A few books I recommend:

(This is a solid and not too difficult read with lots of info - far more than Refuting Islam by Tom Wallace at Fortress of Faith- good stuff there but this is better)
http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Revealed-Christian-Arabs-View/dp/0840730152/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462374965&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=anish+shorrosh

(best overall book to understand the Arab world)
http://www.amazon.com/Closed-Circle-Interpretation-Edward-Burlingame-ebook/dp/B002EVP4V8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462388283&sr=8-1&keywords=closed+circle+jones

and
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Immemorial-Arab-Jewish-Conflict-Palestine/dp/0963624202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462388333&sr=8-1&keywords=joan+peters+time+immemorial

If you want to read a good travel book that reveals the desert lifestyle of the Bedouin and the redeeming qualities that come form that lifestyle as opposed to the corruption of the city and modern Arab world separated from Islam in a sense I would recommend

http://www.amazon.com/Arabian-Sands-W-Thesiger/dp/1873544758/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1462388404&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=thessiger+Arabian+Sands

Since you asked for just a factual history of Islam, two books that I can recommend are:

"Mohammedanism" by H.A.R. Gibb -- written back when you were still allowed to call them "Mohammedans" lol. A slim book but nonetheless a great intro to the religion and how it impacts its adherents and their neighbors.

Amazon

Another (much larger but very thorough) recommendation is Albert Hourani's "A History of the Arab Peoples," published in 1971 I think. I read and studied this book many years ago, before the new content was added (by somebody other than Hourani, who died some time ago). So I can't speak to that, but as a "just the facts" history, written by an actual historian, you can't go too far wrong.

Amazon

Somebody else mentioned Bernard Lewis as being perhaps too sympathetic to Islam. Among those who actually are too sympathetic to Islam, Bernard Lewis is persona non grata! Funny how the same person can be looked at so differently. And yes his books are monstrously erudite, but they are among the best.

Good luck with your studies!