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Lost Enlightenment
- Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
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Lost Enlightenment
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Summary
In this rich and sweeping history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds - remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In fact, they were from Central Asia - drawn from the Persianate and Turkic peoples of a region that today extends from Kazakhstan southward through Afghanistan, and from the easternmost province of Iran through Xinjiang, China.
Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects. They gave algebra its name, calculated the earth's diameter with unprecedented precision, wrote the books that later defined European medicine, and penned some of the world's greatest poetry.
One scholar, working in Afghanistan, even predicted the existence of North and South America - five centuries before Columbus. Rarely in history has a more impressive group of polymaths appeared at one place and time. No wonder that their writings influenced European culture from the time of St. Thomas Aquinas down to the scientific revolution, and had a similarly deep impact in India and much of Asia.
Lost Enlightenment chronicles this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual demise. Informed by the latest scholarship yet presented in a lively and accessible style, this is a book that will surprise general listeners and specialists alike.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about Lost Enlightenment
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jim
- 23-11-13
Fascinating, surprising and beautifully written
As a fan of popular history it's always a treat to discover a time and place that have been previously under-reported. A massively influential culture of scientific, philosophical, literary, theological and architectural inquiry springs up from the 8th Century to around the fall of Constantinople in a part of the world that is now largely a lawless backwater - Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. The ideas and techniques they create have a significant impact on the development of world culture, for instance, Al-Khwarizmi's maths is so sophisticated that we still garble his name when we use an "algorithm". There's so much fascinating detail to pack in that this could have become dry or overwhelming but Starr holds our interest throughout by focusing on both the incredibly interesting characters and the astonishingly advanced work they did. It's also very well narrated. A real treat.
10 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- The Village Green
- 04-05-15
An enlightening listen
A superb magnum opus that details the rise, apogee and fall of the Central Asian enlightenment. A particular must for those keen to understand some of the leading characters that shaped the Muslim world in both science, logic and Islamic doctrine (both a catalyst for the enlightenment and a cause in its demise). My favourite bit? Almost certainly the author's adept handling of biographical detail and his analysis of the decline, the implications of which we are still living with. The narration was good, although my one slight criticism would concern the levels at which they recorded the narrator. Sometimes it sounds a little bit compressed.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 21-06-17
Wasted opportunity
A fascinating topic made boring by an over elaborate analysis of the many individual scholars who contributed to this period of enlightenment.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Thirsty hippo
- 23-08-20
Fascinating history of Central Asia's golden age
There's a tendency in the West to view civilisation in a Western centric way. This book outlines the crucial contribution and magnificence of Central Asia and the Islamic world's golden age as well as offering theories for its rise and eventual demise. A great read and well narrated for audible version.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ed L
- 28-03-20
Looking for ‘needle’ answers in ‘haystack’ history
Very interesting attempt to find answers to the current Islamic stagnation through a very well researched book that should be read and studied by those interested in the historical development of the Islamic thought. I think the book managed to give interesting indications to when the problem had started and why I had lingered since.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sander C
- 15-02-20
A much-needed work
This is a detailed work for those interested in the intellectual life of scientists and thinkers of central Asia. It serves to demystify the notion of backwarded way of life in these regions and also illuminates the reader on the accomplishment of some of the great thinkers of all time. highly recommended work.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sha S.
- 27-09-16
Can't recommend it enough
challenges your presumptions about the course of history whether you are a European who might not have had the fortune of seeing the world beyond the western lense, an Arab who might have misconceptions about the "Islamic" civilization, or a persian like myself who fails to recognise how much his country's heritage is indebted to a long forgotten civilization...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonimo Nonlodico
- 23-04-16
Excellent!
Very good, thorough, intelligent, well written and erudite history of Central Asia. Well worth listening to.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- F-M
- 10-04-14
Subject worthwhile but repetative narrative
Had high hopes for this book. But the author is so desperate to convince us that science and scientific thought happened in Central Asia and NOT in Iran, NOT in China, NOT in Europe etc. that I am at a total loss because the supporting evidence is virtually non-existent. The claim that they were 800 years ahead of everyone else in sociology is a typical sweeping statement that just gets spelled out. I expected a narrative that looked in-depth at what these people actually thought and worked out than being told that the cities of Central Asia were vastly "superior" to anything in Europe, the Middle East and China (we just missed that due to historical bias ). And two people discussing if Aristotle was right is not the same as founding evidence-based science just as asking some third person for an opinion is also not - by any stretch of imagination - the same as being the first in the world to introduce peer-review. Maybe Starr is a good historian - but he seems to know little about scientific thought.One of the few books I have given up on and returned
17 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Julia
- 10-11-13
What a wonderful find!
Would you listen to Lost Enlightenment again? Why?
I've listened to it more than once and will be listening again.
What did you like best about this story?
The rich, personal and true to the moment exchanges between the people who created history. It's possible to have a dialog with a book and this is one of the best examples I've ever read on how someone can have as a mentor someone hundreds of years in the past.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The most gut wrenching moment for me was the author's candid, frank and short explanation of why this period produced no women who were great lights. This came early in the book and in it explained how so much learning never passed out of the courts and to the common people.
Any additional comments?
I hope to find more of the source material and read it, then return and read this book again.
17 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- MDK
- 21-11-16
Not what I had hoped for....
I read and listen to a lot of history ranging from the scholarly to the consumer level. I want to expand my understanding of central Asian history and scholarship because my study of Islamic history lead me to see the massive gap I have in world history. Silk Roads excited me and so I purchased this audiobook thinking it would really thrill me as Sill Roads had. It was not what I had hoped for at all.
The writer attempted to give an introduction to central Asian thinkers but his approach lacks organization and it's really hard to listen to the book because of that.
There are places he could've really benefited from telling a good story, he abridged the stories that would help a newcomer really build a schema to place the facts in, and that really cheapened the experience.
I rated the performance low because I felt the reader read so incredibly slow and his use of emphasis didn't make sense to me. In all fairness I don't know if it's the reader's fault, he had what the writer wrote to read....
13 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hilton
- 30-04-14
Impressively follows up an interesting claim
What made the experience of listening to Lost Enlightenment the most enjoyable?
Mr. Starr paints a very interesting picture of Central Asia (say, modernly, eastern Iran through the -stan countries and western China) and for very many centuries. He does not fail his claim that the region has a "Lost Enlightenment." The numerous parallels to the better known European Enlightenment are most striking: right down to the Brethren of Purity as a rough counterpart to the 18th century Masons (my comparison, not his). The huge debt which world civilization would seem to owe the nowadays-obscure region is most impressive. And at any rate you can be confident it's a good read if you did click for pre-modern Central Asia with any idea that the subject could interest you.
What did you like best about this story?
It's always particularly titillating to learn about a time and place you know little about.I'd wonder that any Central Asian specialists browse the book on audible, so I think it's sure to be fresh to anyone who might hear it.
Have you listened to any of Kevin Stillwell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I had not heard Mr. Stillwell before. I thought his intonation was maybe the slightest bit idiosyncratic in how often it gave a questioning lilt, but it certainly wasn't anything objectionable: endearing after a while, even.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I think this question disregards the length of the work. I listened to it without listening to anything else.
12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Urrooj Rehman
- 15-06-17
Must read book
This is one of those paradigm shifting books that is very important to read. It is thoroughly researched and helped me understand about the decline of Islamic civilization and why we are in the predicament today.
10 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Moh AL Rasheed
- 28-11-16
History vs google
Apart from expecting the next sentence you hear to be: And God came from Central Asia, the information gathering (not scholarship) is impressive.
One example. To claim that Ahmad bin Hanbal as hailing from central asia, is like claiming that Jesus was an Egyptian just because he was taken there as a child.
9 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roger
- 07-03-14
Thorough Account of an Overlooked Age and Area
One of the great ironies in intellectual history is that the knowledge of ancient Greece was largely lost to Europe in the early Middle Ages, but was saved in the Islamic world and then reintroduced to Europe through Moslem Spain. This book gives great insight into the middle leg of that story in a thorough and accessible manner. Starr sets out to explain the rise of the Central Asian Enlightenment, describe all its glories, and then explain its decline.
Central Asia, in the centuries both before and during its Enlightenment, was at the crossroads of vast commercial activities. These included the famous Silk Road to China, as well as routes to India, the Middle East and Europe. Starr focuses on how Central Asia was able to use the interactions and wealth brought by such trade to create an intellectual class. This class was both familiar and comfortable with different cultures and languages and was also used to serving as middlemen between different peoples and cultures. Those intellectuals took the ancient knowledge, sifted it through the other influences of the region, integrated it with knowledge from India and China and made substantial contributions of their own.
The book contrasts the acme of the Central Asian Enlightenment with the comparative backwardness of Europe at the time and then further contrasts the opposite trajectories in intellectual history each area subsequently followed.
Starr argues that religious dogmatism and conflict were prime causes of the decline in the Central Asian Enlightenment. While outside the scope of this book, Starr’s other comparisons of Central Asia and Europe lead to the fascinating question of why European intellectuals were able to escape the intellectual conformity imposed, frequently quite violently, by the Roman Catholic Church, which was even more organized and bureaucratic than Islam, while those in Central Asia could not do so.
9 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- horoscopy
- 07-02-18
"Political Fluff " History
not a scholarly history of the subject more like "Political Fluff" history....very tiring and boring.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- G Roberts
- 03-03-17
Hard to follow narrative
The narration was nice and easy follow. Mr. Stillwell did an excellent job. The narrative, itself, was confusing at best. There didn't seem to be a coherent thread through out. They were disjointed and seemingly unconnected stories presented as connected.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- alexyakkavoo
- 06-08-20
Had to Give Up After Five Tries
I have listened to a lot of history - from the killing of Passenger Pigeons to the Gulag and the Iron Curtain - but I could just not get into the meat of this book if there is meat in there. I have read several other books on the value of the science in Asia, but this was like a chef coming out to your table and saying - Your meal is going to THE BEST... the MOST delicious so many times you starve. In this case, the author keeps writing about ... It was the best, they were the best, they were amazing, yadda yadda. I just couldn't take it anymore.
2 people found this helpful